Moon Trilogy:Book 1:Hawk's Flight
by Spiritwind of FireClan
Summary: The fire of the sun will fade. A black moon will rise. Frozen rain, small fox, and great raptor must join enemies, or a greater threat will rip the forest to its core. Can an orphaned girl help bring peace to the forest?
1. Prologue

**Hi. This is Spiritwind welcoming you to her story Winter Moon. Enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: This is an original story based off the ideas of Erin Hunter(s)._

Prologue

A full moon made the forest silver, pouring its light into the clearing. Dark figures and glowing eyes glared across the glade. Nothing stirred. Not even the smallest leaf. You could hear a mouse squeak. The figures began to move in. Suddenly, a wolf howled and a cat's angry yowl could be heard. The figures flung themselves at each other. The forest was soon alive with yowls, yips, claws, and teeth. Fur and blood was flying everywhere.

One wolf was tackled and wrestled to the ground by five of the strongest cats in the forest. The cats were many, but the wolves were large and strong. The wolf snarled menacingly at the cats and, one by one, tore them off. He stood up and saw one of the she-wolves get knocked to the ground. She yipped helplessly. The male wolf howled and ran to her side.

"Stay still, Cloud!" he barked. He pulled off the cats and let them to go yowling with fear back into their part of the woods.

"Be careful," he growled. Then he darted off to help another wolf that was being attacked.

In the middle of all this, on the edge of the woods, a girl watched helplessly as her house burned to the ground - with her family in it. She was an orphan now, and had no other family. She was alone in the world. No house, no friends, no family, no pets. The only thing she had were the woods.

**A/N: I want to know what everyone thinks. I know, the prologue is bad, but it gets better later. I have more capters, but I _will not_ send them out until someone responds. Pleeeeaaaasssse respond! I will love you forever! By the way, my friend Moonstar and I will be writing two other stories. Check them out too please!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Yay! Chapter one! Hey, you guys, don't you think the name Spiritwind is cool?:) (I'm not cocky at all...)**

_Disclaimer: This is an original story based off the ideas of Erin Hunter(s). Teehee!_

Chapter 1

The cats woke to their leader's meeting call. They all gathered to the middle of their camp to see what was so important that they had to be woken up. Many of the cats were mourning for family and loved ones they had lost in the battle they had the previous night. A large black and orange tabby stood in the center of the camp.

"All of us have lost at least one loved one," he yowled. "I for one have lost my brother, Lightfire, and the heir to take my place as leader when I go to join our ancestors in the sky. I now have a dilemma. I must pick a new heir before my passing. I have until the next new moon to make my choice. After that, I might pass. Now go hunt for our breakfast. We needent starve."

The cats began to break off into groups, muttering among themselves. A plump, light, cream colored she-cat slowly walked up to her leader. As she approached, she bowed her head respectfully.

"Darkfire, what is to become of my kits?" she mewed cautiously. "They are almost here and I fear for their safety from WolfTribe. What if they attack?"

The leader chose his words carefully and kindly, for he could sense her fear.

"We will protect all she-cats expecting kits as best we can," he replied. He touched his nose affectionately to his sister's silky fur. "You'll be alright, Whitefire. As always," he purred into her ear. Then, with a flick of his tail, dismissed her. Whitefire slowly walked back to the nursery. Darkfire stared after her until she was safely back inside. Then he padded back to his den to think about who would be the new heir to his position as leader.

The next day, Darkfire woke to one of the other cat's loud meowing.

"Darkfire! Wake up! Quick!"

Darkfire looked up, his eyes still half closed from his sleep. It was his good friend One-eye, one of the elders.

"What's the rush?" Darkfire grunted sleepily as he sat up, his mouth parting in a yawn. He looked unbinking into the only eye on his friend's face.

"Whitefire-! Oh, there's no time to explain. Come on! Hurry!"

At his sister's name and the urgent tone in his friends voice, Darkfire immediately stood up.

"Show the way," he ordered.

The two cats raced across the camp to the nursery. Once at the entrance they slowed and entered quietly, Darkfire still frantic with fear. When he saw what was going on, he immediately calmed down, for right before their eyes was Whitefire. Not only was she in perfect health, but right beside her were four adorable kits, cuddled and mewling softly by their mother's belly. When Darkfire and One-eye entered, she looked up, purred a greeting, and went back to licking and nudging her new kits affectionately.

"I tried to get you here in time to see them being born," One-eye meowed playfully. "But you wouldn't get up!"

Darkfire batted at One-eye's face playfully with his paw. One-eye dodged it.

"I got to sleep late last night!" he growled, but showed no sign of aggressiveness.

"No fighting in front of the kits," Whitefire purred.

"But they can't see yet!" One-eye meowed in protest.

"But they can hear you," Whitefire hissed.

"Okay, okay!" One-eye crouched in surrender.

Whitefire proudly flicked her tail and went back to grooming her mewling kits.

"You have got to fix her attitude. She's had her kits, but she's still her grouchy self," One-eye hissed to Darkfire under his breath.

"I heard that," Whitefire growled in between licks.

One-eye growled as he turned to leave. "Have fun." He disappeared through the narrow hole in the wall.

"You two seem to be getting along well," purred Darkfire sarcastically. He walked over to his sister and licked her between the ears reassuringly.

Whitefire sighed. "I miss Lightfire."

Darkfire stared sadly as his sister flumped onto her side. Her eyes were glazed with grief. "I wish he could have been here to see the kits. He was so exited."

"It's alright," he purred. "At least he did not die in vain. He protected our territory. He even protected you and your kits. He is watching us now from the sky. He can see them."

The two cats rubbed heads.

"So," meowed Darkfire, changing the subject, "What did you name them?" He nodded towards the kits.

"Well, I like to name my kits well, so it took a little while, but I've got them now," she purred. "This is Silverpaw." She jerked her head towards a gray tabby. "This is Sunpaw." She nodded towards an orange-yellow she-cat. "This is Rainbowpaw." She flicked her tail in the direction of a curious Calico she-cat. "And this," she dropped her head sadly, "Is Foxpaw." Darkfire saw an undersize red-orange kit with a white tipped tail. "He is the youngest, and the runt. He might not survive." She bent her head to lick the kit. Darkfire looked on sadly.

"It'll be okay," he reassured her. "Not many kits die because of the way they're born. I'm sure he'll be fine."

Whitefire purred her thanks.

Before Darkfire left, he picked up Rainbowkit, who was trying to have an adventure, and brought her over to Whitefire. He gave all the kits and Whitefire a lick and walked proudly out of the nursery to let other cats have a chance to see the new born kits. He found One-eye waiting for him.

"So, did you talk to her about her attitude?" the gray and white tabby meowed.

"No."

"Why not?"

"She was upset about Lightfire. She really misses him."

"Well she can't mourn forever." One-eye flicked his tail impatiently. "He must've passed by now. He can see her!"

Darkfire sighed. Though he did not show it, he missed his brother too.

"I guess," he mewed.

One-eye must have seen the sorrow in Darkfire's eyes because he purred, "Don't worry about it! Soon you will pass and join him in the sky. After that Whitefire will join you. You will all be together again."

"Well, that's reassuring," the leader remarked.

One-eye touched his nose to his friend's flank affectionately, then walked away to give Darkfire some time.

Darkfire padded towards his den to think more about who he would appoint to be the new heir to be the leader. He thought until moonrise. Then it hit him. Real heirs would do perfectly. Whitefire's new kits would do perfectly! He just had to figure out which one. There was a week left until the full moon, so he had some time. He would observe the kits every day from sunrise until moonrise. He would pick the one he thought would do best as leader and that would be that. Problem was, the kits might not understand what to do as leader, so he decided he would make Whitefire the leader and the future leader's private tutor. When the kit was old and knowledgeable enough, it would become leader instead of Whitefire. Hopefully the kits would all be alright when the time came to make the announcement. There wasn't enough time for him to choose again. Lost in thought, Darkfire curled up, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Darkfire woke to the damp smell of leaves. It had rained the night before, and his green den wasn't complete shelter to the rain. Leftover rain droplets fell from the leaves onto his damp, sleek coat. Darkfire stood slowly, stretched, yawned, and went into the light. The heat of the sun felt good on his coat and he closed his eyes and relaxed to absorb the heat. Then he remembered. He would have to make the announcement about training the kits to see who he would pick to be leader. He tore his eyes open and jogged to the middle of the camp to call the meeting. Cats slowly emerged from their dens and gathered in front of their leader.

"Wake up and good morning!" he yowled. "I have a very important announcement to make. I hope you can hear me Whitefire! I might have to say this very loud! Yowl if you can hear me!"

A muffled yowl came from the nursery.

"Good," Darkfire meowed. "As you know, my sister, Whitefire, has had her kits. I hope you have seen them. They're adorable! Anyway, I have decided to make one of the kits the leader, but I have not decided which one yet. I will observe and train them every day from sunrise until moonrise. Then I will pick which one I think will do best as leader. If I pass before the kits are old enough, Whitefire will be the leader and our future leader's tutor until it is old enough and knowledgeable enough to be leader. Now, warriors go train the apprentices so we will have more warriors. Those of you that have not had breakfast, knock yourselves out!" A few cats nodded in agreement. Darkfire purred with humor and with a flick of his tail, dismissed them. He then rushed over to the nursery. He entered the narrow stone entrance into the shady and cool room. The soft dirt floor felt good under his paws as he made his way over to Whitefire.

"So, did you hear me?" Darkfire meowed as he stopped in front of her.

"Yes," Whitefire purred. "And I am very honored. Do you really trust me that much?"

"Of course!" Darkfire touched his nose to Whitefire's. "I couldn't trust anyone more! Now about the kits... Where are they?" Darkfire squinted in the dim light and looked around. He spotted Rainbowpaw sniffing the air. The kits had opened their eyes by now, but still couldn't see well.

Darkfire watched as the curious kit smelled around until her nose hit the wall and she fell on her haunches. She shook her head to clear it and sneezed. Whitefire and her brother purred in amusement as they sat and watched the kit bump into the wall again, never getting tired. It was as if she was trying to walk through the wall.

Just then, the other three kits emerged from the room on the other side of the wall, Silverpaw in the front and Sunpaw and Foxpaw at his flanks like bodyguards. Rainbowpaw immediately stopped ramming her head into the wall and started towards her three siblings. She then pounced on them and the four kits became four tumbling balls of fluff.

"They're playing!" Whitefire purred happily.

"This will also help them in their future," Darkfire meowed seriously.

"As a mother I should know that!" Whitefire hissed, insulted.

"No, I mean this could help me choose which would be leader. I need to know which one fights the best..."

"You're talking about them like they're some sort of prey and you're choosing which one to eat!" Whitefire spat angrily. "You will find out in _their_ own time! Not yours!" Whitefire pulled back her lip and growled. "I sure hope you don't find the leader and eat all the other kits!"

Darkfire's eyes widened with surprise. He had never heard his sister talk like that. Him eat her kits? It was outrageous!

"You should feel ashamed of yourself!" he finally hissed. "Me eat your kits! Why would I ever do such a thing! I would be going againsed my own law! We don't even eat the wolves we kill! Why would I kill one of my own kind! Especially my blood!"

Darkfire spat and went back to watching the kits. He figured he should get comfortable since he was going to be there until moonrise, so he lay down and put his head on his paws.

As he observed the kits, he noticed Silverpaw was mostly making noises that sounded like he was egging the other kits on. Also, he noticed if any of the kits started to get rough with Silverpaw, the kit would be flung off and hissed at. Silverpaw acted like their leader. Darkfire narrowed his eyes in concentration as he watched the kits tumble and be knocked away from Silverpaw. Eventually, the gray kit gave in and started tumbling with the other kits. _They will all be good fighters_ Darkfire thought.

The sun had already set by the time Darkfire left the nursery. He hadn't talked to Whitefire since their fight, though it seemed ages ago. He knew Whitefire was just being a regular moody mother, so he gave her time to cool off now. The quarrel would soon be forgotten.

The smell that seeped into Darkfire's nose when he was completely out of the nursery made his stomach growl. The warm scent of fresh kill was coming from a big pile in the middle of the camp. Darkfire padded over to the pile, his mouth watering. He hadn't eaten all day. He chose a very fat mouse and went just outside his den to eat. He devoured the mouse, bones and all, and began to groom himself. As he washed, he thought of the angry expression on his sister's face and shivered. He thought about what she said. For some reason, he was still mad at her for thinking he would do that. He could never even imagine any cat eating another! The wolves maybe, they were savages. But the cats were perfectly civilized. Well, perhaps they would work it out. Darkfire did look forward to watching and training the kits. He had to admit they were adorable. He sighed. Maybe a good night sleep would clear his head. He stood up and trotted into his den. He walked in circles, lied down, and went to sleep.

Darkfire had been watching the kits every day, like he had said he would. The kits were all very good warriors. Well, that is, they would be when they were old enough. He had also started to train them. He had taken them around the camp and introduced them to everybody. He had even shown them a little bit of the territory and taught them how to hunt mice. It was their first taste of meat, and Darkfire wasn't sure they were allowed to eat it yet, but they fell in love with it. They had grown to love Darkfire, and Darkfire became attached to them.

Darkfire and Whitefire had stopped fighting. She had said sorry and that she had over reacted. Darkfire had felt a pang of pity when he realized she was just being protective over her new born kits. She loved them so much. If anything happened to them, she would be scarred for life. She would sacrifice herself for them.

It was the day before Darkfire would have to make his decision on which kit would be leader. He had to decide quickly, for he only had till sunrise, and it was almost sunset. He was positive which kit would be leader, but what about the new heir? When the kit became leader, Darkfire would be dead and there would be no heir. He made his way to his den to concentrate. He thought for a moment, but went to sleep.

Darkfire woke to the sound of birds chirping. He was kind of exited to make the announcement. He jumped up to his feet and tidied his fur. Then he bounded out into the dim light. It was almost sunrise. The sky was filled with pinks, blues, and oranges. He still had time. Darkfire looked around to see One-eye approaching him. Darkfire flicked his ears in greeting as his friend stopped in front of him.

"Good morning!" One-eye meowed cheerily.

"You're in a good mood." Darkfire placed his forepaws on his friend's back.

"I'm excited to hear who you have chosen. When will you make the announcement?"

"At sunrise. I've told you that twice already. You need to work on your memory!"

"Hey, I'm old! Give me a break, will ya!"

Just at that moment, Darkfire noticed the sun had peeked out from behind the trees. He slipped his paws off One-eye's back and padded towards the middle of the camp. He yowled the meeting call and all the cats began to crowd around him. Some cats poked their heads into other dens to wake others up. When most of the cats were around the meeting place, he began to speak.

"You all know I must make my decision for the new leader now. I have made up my mind. The leader will be-"

Darkfire was interrupted midspeach, for sprinting towards the cats was Whitefire, a look of pure horror on her face. All heads turned to face her when she yowled, "The kits are gone!"

**A/N: AHHH!! Cliffhanger! Well, you'll just have to read more, won't you? Please R and R! I need to know if I should continue. I love you guys! -Spiritwind**


	3. Chapter 2

**YAY! Chapter 2! Thanks to all who responded. You're awesome!**

_Disclaimer: This is an original story based off the books by Erin Hunter(s). Sorry I can't think of anything orginal to write here..._

Chapter 2

A brisk drizzle pelted a she-wolf's white-gray coat. She was on night patrol, but was expecting pups. She hadn't told anyone yet, and said she was only getting fat because she ate too much. She had gotten pregnant because of an outlaw - well, that wolf was an outlaw now. He didn't used to be though. He was part of the Wolf Tribe until he was found by a couple of Giants and was taken to live with them. He had become a mere dog. The stupid Giants couldn't tell the difference between dogs and wolves. Truth was, wolves were severely insulted when they were mistaken for, or called, dogs. Dogs were clumsy and servants to Giants. They usually didn't have another dog to keep them company, and therefore usually didn't have pups. Sometimes the Giants even took them to the Giant Healer to prevent them from having pups. _It's amazing_ the wolf thought, _how dogs used to be wolves and foxes, but were tamed to become Giant companions._ She growled at the thought of being a dog and began to pace slightly. It was almost dawn and soon her shift would be over and she would be able to eat and sleep. Being pregnant made her hungry so she was telling the truth that she ate a lot.

As soon as she could see the sun over the treetops, the wolf padded over to the pile of food and grabbed a fairly large and plump rabbit and walked over to a tree stump to eat. She had been awake all night and could barely keep her eyes open. The warmth of the meat and blood from the rabbit made her even sleepier. As much as she liked to chew on the bones, the wolf really wasn't in the mood for it. When she had finished, she licked her chops and walked into her moss-covered den. She circled and curled up to sleep, but was interrupted by the loud snoring of one of the other she-wolves. She tried to close her eyes and blot out the loud zzz-ing so she could go to sleep, but it was too distracting. Finally she stood up and walked drowsily over to the other wolf. She soon found it was her best friend, Silver. The she-wolf sighed and nudged Silver with her nose. The shining gray wolf gave a disturbed snore and groaned, "Who's there?"

"It is Cloud."

"What's wrong?" her friend asked abruptly and immediately sat up. "Are you having your pups?"

"Shush!" Cloud growled quietly. "Do you want to tell the whole camp?" Silver was the only one Cloud had told about her pups and how she got pregnant, besides the other she-wolves who had given birth, but they never mentioned it. Plus, they did not know where or who the father was. As far as they knew, her mate could have been killed by the cats in the battle the night before. Many had been lost, but many cats had been lost too. The cats and wolves had been fighting for generations because the cats were originally from a place far away. They used to be four Clans, but these cats combined from all of the old clans and left after a leader named Firestar had died. They had built up over the years, but didn't allow any more outsiders to join, not because they were mean, but because it was dangerous. The first cats hadn't known about the Tribe of the Wolf, and by the time the wolves found out about them, the cats were too many. The Tribe, on the other hand, had been there since before the Giants cut down most of the forest and made their dens there. The wolves were there when the Native American's tribe lived there. The clearings used to be campsites for the Native Americans until they were chased out by white Giants. The wolves had been good friends of the Native Americans. Even though the wolves had explained this to the cats more than once, they still thought the woods rightfully belonged to them. So the wolves and the cats fought continuously over the centuries old wood.

"Sorry." Silver dropped her head.

Cloud stared at her friend and felt bad at how harshly she had just spoken to her.

"It's alright," she finally sighed. "I just overreacted. I woke you up because you were snoring really loudly and I couldn't sleep."

"Sorry," Silver repeated. She curled up and began to go to sleep again.

Cloud made her way over to her newly made nest and lied down again. She slowly closed her eyes and went to sleep.

It was late afternoon when Cloud woke up. From inside the den she could hardly hear her alpha's meeting call. Cloud pricked her ears and lifted her head. When the howling died away she laid her head back down on the moss covered dirt on the bottom of her den. She tried to go back to sleep when she heard another wolf's urgent bark. "Get up, Cloud! You're going to miss the meeting!"

Instinctively, Cloud jumped up onto her paws, growled, and pulled her lip back, the fur on the back of her neck standing on end. When she saw it was only Silver, she immediately stopped growling and her fur relaxed.

"Calm down. It's only me!" Silver had an alarmed look on her face. She turned and walked hurriedly out of the den. Once outside, Silver stopped, looked over her shoulder at Cloud, and motioned for her to follow. Cloud obediently stood up and licked her fur flat. She then slowly followed Silver into the brilliant sunlight. She saw the alpha sitting on a large, smooth rock placed in the middle of the clearing. The Native Americans had used this rock to eat on and the wolves, instead of disrespecting the Native Americans, used the rock as the meeting spot. Cloud slowly padded over to the rock where all the wolves were gathered. They called it the Spirit Rock.

"Nice of you to join us, Cloud."

"Sorry, Blackmoon." Cloud flattened her ears and bowed her head respectfully and in submission. She slowly continued to join the crowd, but sat in the back.

"You'd better not do it again," he growled.

Even though Cloud respected Blackmoon, she still thought he was a bit rough with everybody. Then, she remembered how he had saved her in the battle they had with the cats not long ago. He was strict, but he had a good heart. He was a good alpha– probably one of the best the pack had ever seen. She didn't know what they would do without him. They most likely wouldn't be able to figure out who the new leader would be.

"Lucky I was there to warn you to get up. He would have been furious if you missed the whole meeting!"

Silver's whispering disturbed Cloud's thoughts. She was right, of course. She didn't know what she would do without _her_. Being her best friend, Silver always helped Cloud, whether it was sticking up for her or getting her up in the morning.

"Wolves of Wolf Tribe," Blackmoon began. "Last night brought a few hardships to the Clan. The battle left many wounded, and meany dead. There were also two deaths here in camp."

There were a few surprised gasps from the crowd, and some of the wolves exchanged unreadable glances. Blackmoon had to hold up his paw for silence.

"These were unexpected deaths. They were two of the elders, Streak and Storm. According to the other elders, there was a raid on the camp during the battle. Everyone was asleep of course, so no one noticed. The elders had time to hide, but the other two were too old and slow, so they couldn't get away in time."

"What are you implying?" growled someone from the back. "They weren't that slow! And where are they anyway? Shouldn't we have a burial ritual?"

There were a few mutters of agreement. Cloud looked back up at Spirit Rock, and noticed that Blackmoon suddenly looked nervous. Cloud narrowed her eyes suspiciously. What was so bad about having a burial ceremony? It was a tradition that had been passed on to the wolves from the Indians. Why couldn't they do it now? Cloud just stared at Spirit Rock, waiting for Blackmoon to speak.

Blackmoon looked down on his Clan, waiting for quiet. Cloud noticed that he muttered something under his breath. She was too far away to hear what he said, but what made Cloud even more curious was that it looked like he said fox dung.

"Everyone, please calm down. The elders have informed me that the bodies were never found. I have sent out a search party to find them, but so far there is no word. It might have been the cats! They are always trying to make us afraid of them."

At this there were a few barks of agreement. Suddenly, a patrol emerged from the gorse at one of the entrances to the camp. It the mouths of the wolves were two others – Streak and Storm! There were a few anxious gasps. Blackmoon looked even more nervous than usual, his eyes wide.

The wolves let go of the elders in the center of the clearing. Their fur was torn from their fight to survive whatever attacked them, their bodies limp, and their limbs splayed out in different directions.

"They were found in CatClan territory," one of the male wolves, Cedar, said. "They were just thrown aside carelessly. The scent they carried wasn't a cat's though. It smelled like wolf from our territory."

"Who would do such a thing?" gasped one of the elders.

"A cat in disguise!" howled Blackmoon fiercely. "They're trying to trick us into thinking it was one of our own!"

"How would they be able to match one of our own scents?" Cedar asked. "Unless they were hiding in our territory and getting help from one of the wolves, it's impossible!"

Cloud was watching Silver. Her friend looked proud of Cedar, who Cloud knew she was rather fond of.

"That is true," Blackmoon sighed. "And there is one wolf that I haven't been able to trust for a while." The sigh turned into a growl deep in his chest, beginning a crescendo at each word. "The one who claims not to be pregnant. The one who is never on time for anything. The one who is always over-sleeping. The she-wolf by the name of Cloud!"

All eyes turned on her. Cloud's eyes opened wide and she looked around wildly, confused. She would never do such a thing! In fact she didn't do it. She knew she didn't. Why would she? How could she? She was battling for her life at the time. She couldn't have been in two places at once!

"I was in battle!" she snarled. "How could I have been here?"

"Where were you afterwards?" Blackmoon growled. "You had disappeared right after mid battle!"

"You know exactly where she went!" Silver snapped. "I watched the whole thing. Right after you saved her life from the cats you told her to go back home to Fallenleaf to get her wounds taken care of!"

"Nonsense!" growled Blackmoon, though he started looking nervous again.

"Alright then," Silver retorted. "Let's ask Fallenleaf what she thinks."

Just then a cat burst out of the gorse paying no attention to the mix fur he snagged on the thorns. When he spotted the dead bodies he curled back his lip and narrowed his eyes but kept going. _He has some nerve coming in here alone_ Cloud thought. _He obviously has some purpose._

"Wolf Tribe," he began. " My name is Dirtpelt. I have come here on behalf of my leader for there has been some confusion in CatClan territory."

"Leave, cat," growled Blackmoon.

The cat didn't budge.

"NOW!" barked Blackmoon and lunged himself at Dirtpelt, but the feline still held his ground. He only took a slight step to the side, very smoothly and delicately, so Blackmoon wouldn't land on him as he had intended. Dirtpelt shook himself and sat down, very relaxed. He stretched and yawned.

"If you don't leave now, you will never leave."

Dirtpelt began grooming himself.

"Leave now, or you won't leave at all!" Blackmoon was getting very annoyed. He barred his teeth, ready to strike.

Dirtpelt held up a paw to stop him.

"My leader told me if I don't come back, dead or alive, there will be a raid on your camp and he won't leave till every single one of you are dead. Do I make myself clear?"

Blackmoon forced himself to relax and sat down, though he was still bristling a bit.

"Well then, shall I continue?" He didn't wait for an answer. "You see those bodies over there? Well late yesterday, well after moonrise, one of our patrols found them in our territory. This morning they were gone. Obviously we know where they are, but that is not what my leader wants to talk to you about. He wants a meeting in the Clearing." He paused. "You have until sunhigh to get there." He paused again to look up. "And that isn't long."

Dirtpelt stood up, turned, and left like nothing had happened.

"We will go, won't we?" asked one of the worried mothers. "They are obviously planning something incase we don't come, and I don't want to find out what it is." She nestled her pups closer to her with one paw.

There were mumbles of agreement throughout the area where the mothers were sitting.

"Fine then, we'll go." Blackmoon turned around and said, "At once." He assembled some warriors, among them Silver. Cloud could understand why she herself was not chosen. Silver gave her a slight nod as she left with the others. The rising sun dyed the leaves and the dirt red. It was just then that Cloud remembered what she had learned when she was an apprentice: _When the red sun rises, it brings unpleasant surprises._ She had to warn Silver! But wait. What if something was going to happen there, at the camp? She just sat back down and waited for the return of the party.

☼☼☼☼☼

"This meeting is now in session," called Darkfire. "First I will explain why we are here. Before moonset, one of our hunting parties found two dead wolves in our territory. We don't know how they got there, but we're hoping you do. We couldn't find the bodies this morning, so we assume you took them."

"Indeed we did take the bodies back to our camp. I sent out a hunting party to find them. This morning we noticed two of our elders were gone and I ordered to have them found," explained Blackmoon. "But we do not know how their bodies got in your territory. We suspected it was your cats who killed them, but obviously we were wrong."

"Yes, you were. You should know we would never kill elders or young ones even if they belong to the enemy."

"Of course. That is what a noble and good leader should do. We must find out who did this! Those elders were very special and loved."

"Yes, well we do have a clue. The fur of their carcasses smelled of the same scent, and that scent was of a wolf."

"Are you saying we have a traitor in our Tribe?" challenged Blackmoon.

"Of course not! I am just saying you should pay closer attention to your clan mates." Darkfire stared nice and hard into Blackmoon's eyes. "Meeting adjourned!" he yowled, assembled his warriors and left. Blackmoon lingered for a few moments, looking quite nervous and annoyed.

"Well?" pressed Silver. "Are we going? 'Cause I'd like to get groomed and settle this in camp."

Blackmoon was sitting down with an unreadable expression. He hadn't heard her. Silver took a step forward, confused.

"Blackmoon?"

There was no reply.

"Blackmoon, are you alright?"

Still no reply. She gave him a nudge. Blackmoon closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Hunh?" he grunted.

Silver sighed with relief and frustration.

"Lets go," she repeated.

"Right," Blackmoon nodded. "Let's go!" he barked and jogged off with his clan following close behind.

Back at camp, Cloud greeted Silver with relief.

"Thank goodness you're alright," she sighed. "There was a red sunrise."

"Of course I'm alright! Bad things don't always happen with a red sunrise!" She gave Cloud an affectionate bite on the shoulder. "But thanks for being concerned." Then she got serious. She told Whitecloud about the meeting and how the cats hadn't murdered the elders.

"I suspect Blackmoon," Silver growled. "He's been acting so suspicious since the subject came up."

Cloud nodded in agreement. She had noticed this too. He had been so nervous all the time, at least when the lost elders were mentioned.

"I'm going to press the matter to find out for sure. Wanna' come?"

"Okay," replied Cloud, and they set off towards Blackmoon.

When the approached, Blackmoon must have suspected something because he began to edge in the direction of his den. Silver caught up with him and blocked the entrance.

"Where are you going?" she demanded. "You're supposed to talk to the clan about the meeting."

Blackmoon started looking nervous again.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" growled Blackmoon.

"You are right," Silver admitted. "It is not my place to tell you, but they are clan rules."

Blackmoon growled an amused laugh.

"No, they're not."

"Yes, they are! And you know it."

Blackmoon tried to walk away, but Silver jumped in front of him.

"You made them."

"Fine," Blackmoon grunted. He slowly walked up to the Spirit Rock and called the meeting to order.

"We are here now because of my rules. Silver has reminded me of that."

He acted grateful, put he fixed Silver with a piercing stare.

"Now, we are here to discuss the double clan meeting today. We were called there to discuss the dead elders. Apparently the cats did not kill them. They were asking us why they were in their territory. I don't know if I believe this or not, but I cannot make up your minds." He started to leave the Spirit Rock, but then changed his mind and straightened back up. "I know you all have been wondering who I will appoint beta," he began, and glanced teasingly at Silver. "I have recently made my decision. Silver, would you care to join me on Spirit Rock?"

Caught off guard, Silver's mouth hung open as if on broken hinges. Catching herself, she shut her mouth and clenched her teeth, shaking with excitement as she approached the Spirit Rock.

"Silver," growled Blackmoon so all could hear, "I ask you to be beta for the Wolf Tribe. When my time has expired, you must take my place as alpha and lead the Tribe. Do you accept this duty?"

"I do," Silver gruffed.

"Then I, Blackmoon, appoint you beta of Wolf Tribe. You have shown great leadership in these past moons, and I know you will make a great alpha in your time."

The Tribe howled in agreement. When the meeting came to an end, Silver trotted up to Cloud.

"Me!" she gasped, not able to believe that she had been chosen. "I'm going to be an alpha!"

Cloud growled happily. "This is great! I thought he was mad at you for making him do an announcement."

Silver blinked in agreement. "Yeah. Maybe he didn't do it after all. I mean, he's to good of a leader to do such a thing, don't you think?"

This Cloud wasn't so sure about and was unable to agree with her friend. "I think we should keep our eyes open and not under estimate anyone," she said at last. Silver sighed.

"I suppose you're right, as always." They padded to their den and slept for a very long time.

**Is Blackmoon evil? What will happen to everyone? WHAT'S GOING ON?!?!?!?!? Find out more in chapter 3, only if people R and R! -Spiritwind**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi. Welcome back! Now you can _finally_ learn about the girl (hem hem to people who were complaining about it) teehee! Anyway, READ!**

_Disclaimer: This is an original story based off the ideas of Erin Hunter. _But wait...there are _two_ of them!

Chapter 3

Branches flung and leaves rustled as a nine year old girl raced through the damp forest. As she ran she choked back tears that still had not come from the night before. She was thinking about that fire – no one had known how it had started, and that was the mystery. Adriane wanted to know why her parents had died. She knew about the fire and all, but she wanted to know if it just happened or if it was on purpose. She was eager to find out, but knew it was probably not going to happen. There was no evidence of how the fire had started. The whole thing kind of reminded her of a book series she had read by Lemony Snicket called a Series of Unfortunate Events. Adriane hoped what had happened to the Bodilare children would not happen to her, but that is not what reminded her of the books. It was the fire. The same thing had happened to the Bodilare orphans, with the fire killing their parents. Adriane had run away because she was afraid of what would happen to her if she stayed in civilization. She didn't want to be taken away to an orphanage or anything, and she didn't want to move in with strangers. Anyway, even if she liked her foster family, no one would be able to match her parents. They were the nicest people she had ever known or met.

Adriane was so busy thinking that she wasn't paying attention to where she was running and tripped on a large root that sent her hurtling towards the damp carpet of leaves and moss that made the forest floor. The wind whipped past her face as she fell. It was the happiest, most thrilling feeling she had felt since the fire. She loved the feeling of the butterflies in her stomach and the brisk air. Then the moment was gone as she landed with a hard _thud_ on the leaves. All the wind left her body and was replaced with a massive headache as her head crashed on the ground soon after her body. Adriane lay on the soft, wet ground for a moment, catching her breath. Then she closed her eyes in a blink that seemed to last forever. She placed her hands on the forest floor, feeling the mix of leaves, twigs, and moss all with a touch of rain. She heaved in a breath and pushed her self up. Her head throbbed and she shook it. Because she was a bit dizzy, Adriane decided to take a rest and set up camp for the day, and maybe the night. She was tired since she had been running non stop since the night before, and could hardly keep her eyes open now that she had stopped.

Once the camp was set up, Adriane laid her weary body onto the bed she had made out of soft moss and leaves. As her limbs relaxed, she began to think that life in the wild couldn't be as bad as some people would say it would be. She knew from school what berries and things she could eat, and she could maybe get some meat if she got herself together and was able to make a fire and actually kill an animal. She wasn't a vegetarian, though. She knew she would get used to her new surroundings, and maybe she would find a clearing or something where she could make a permanent home. Adriane got so lost in her thoughts that she drifted off to sleep, listening to the soft sounds of nature in daylight, soaking in the warmth of the summer sun.

When Adriane awoke, it was nighttime. It wasn't too cold, but it was slightly chilly. She decided to build a fire, so she went to collect sticks. It was pretty hard to find dry sticks since it had rained, and it was just then that Adriane noticed that her clothes were damp. She was going to have to make a shelter after she ate. When the fire was made, Adriane went to find some berries she could eat. It wouldn't be too hard since it was summer.

When Adriane had had enough to eat, she began to make her shelter. She gathered a few fairly large sticks and stuck them far into the damp ground. She then got some thorn vines and made a grid-like thing across the sticks so she could cover the top with moss, twigs and leaves. She put on a few layers so the rain couldn't get in for a while if it rained, and she would keep getting fresh supplies to put on top. When Adriane had finished, she stepped back to admire her work. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it was something. Adriane was content with what she had done. Then she suddenly jerked out of her trance and felt a pang of fatigue. She decided to go to sleep so she wouldn't become nocturnal. She crawled into her bed and went to sleep quickly. She was eager to wake up in the morning.

So it went on like this, this way of life for Adriane. She did the same things almost every day. It kept her busy, but she did get bored sometimes. If this ever happened, she would go for a walk and look for that clearing she was always dreaming about (Yes, she had some dreams about it). She was sure it existed and if it did exist it was in these woods. She had a gut feeling, sort of like when an owl has a strong feeling in their gizzard. She always searched when she had the time, but kept her camp in the same spot. She wouldn't move it until she found the clearing, and she had nothing to worry about like people following her because she really didn't know anybody and if someone did find out, they would probably think she was dead too. At night, Adriane spent her time thinking. She thought about the clearing mostly, not about her family. She was trying to forget them so she wouldn't be so sad all the time. She thought about what she would do when she found the clearing. Would her camp be in the middle or on the side? Well, it had seemed like months since everything had happened with her parents, but it had only been two days.

Adriane worked so hard all the time. Sometimes she wondered why she was working so much, but then she remembered her parents and how she had to take care of herself now. She often thought of giving up completely, just letting go of life. She almost did a few times, deciding she would leave in the morning, but then she would have that strange dream about the clearing. Every night it got more vivid. It had to be real! It got weirder too though. She kept seeing herself in some bushes while watching a group of cats and wolves have some sort of meeting in the center of the clearing by a large tree stump. There weren't many of them, but the wolves were quite large and both the groups looked strong and fierce. This got Adriane feeling nervous. The weirdest thing though was that it seemed like the groups were discussing something. She didn't know why, but it seemed to Adriane that they were talking about something recent. She could not understand their animal language, but she just had that feeling. Her parents had always said that just because we can't understand animals doesn't mean that they don't have lives of their own. Who knows, they could be just like us. With families they care for, neighborhoods, tension with other animals, organization, or maybe they can even tell time. Just because they don't talk like us doesn't mean they speak gibberish in general.

Thinking back on this, Adriane went to sleep on her moss bed. She started to have her dream again, but it was different...

She was running. Running it seemed like to nowhere. She just kept running, dodging moss covered trees and roots and branches, just running, never stopping. The trees slowly started to thin out. More light was coming in through the leaves. Adriane's heart was beating fast now. She felt a bit cautious, maybe too cautious, about what could be past the trees. Suddenly there was a blinding light. Adriane blinked for a few moments, getting used to the bright sunlight. Her eyes stung and watered. She was now so used to the shade of the green canopy that was always over her in the woods. Once she adapted, she looked around. She was in the clearing! There in front of her was a snow-white wolf pup and a fox-red kitten with a white tipped tail. They seemed to beckon her to follow... And she did.

When Adriane woke up, her face was damp with cold sweat. She got up and started to run, right down the path in her dream. She didn't know why she was going, but her legs seemed to just take her like they had minds of their own. Unlike in the dream, Adriane wasn't scared at all. Actually, she was quite calm. Soon the light started to come. The trees began to thin and then there were none. There, right in front of her, was the clearing. She began looking around. It looked exactly like in her dream! The ground was not grass – it was dirt. The clearing was completely surrounded by trees that seemed to go on for miles. In the middle of the clearing there was a very large tree stump. It was about six and a half feet in diameter. It was big enough for her to put her whole tent on. But then she realized she had forgotten all her camping gear back at her old site. She slapped her hand to her head. How could she be so stupid? She didn't know how far away everything was. It could've been miles. The woods were really big. She decided to just make a new camp that would be better. She began to look for some moss, leaves, and sticks for the tent. She found some fallen trees and started to think about cutting them into little logs for a fire. She figured, though, that it would take too long since she only had a pocket knife that she had made herself with her. She didn't even know if it could cut anything except vines of berries. She just walked on, collecting her supplies.

By the time Adriane got back to the clearing, it was dark. When she began to set up the tent, she noticed footprints in the dirt. They weren't human footprints, but Adriane was still curious. When she looked closer, she noticed there were two kinds of footprints – bigger ones and smaller ones. She noticed the smaller prints were cat footprints. She couldn't figure out the larger footprints though. They looked like a very large dog's. Adriane closed her eyes and shook her head, thinking she had gone crazy. Wild cats and dogs in a public park? Ridiculous! She turned around and continued building her tent.

Adriane settled down into her bed, still thinking about the footprints. What could those larger footprints be from? She soon forgot about it because of how tired she was and closed her eyes. She awoke with a start sitting bolt upright. It couldn't be! She looked up and saw it was a full moon. There it was again! Howling. And the answer... Yowling? Impossible! How could wolves be in the park? Adriane had never seen them or heard them before. Nor had she seen or heard wild cats. _Maybe I'm sick?_ Adriane thought. _If I go to sleep, perhaps I'll be better._ So she went to sleep, just as her conscience had instructed.

In the morning when Adriane woke up, she found herself face to face with a silver wolf and a black and orange cat. Although she was afraid, Adriane could sense that the animals were more scared than she was. Wait. As she looked around, she could see that there were more animals than the two that were next to her. Behind each animal were about twenty of their own kind – cats and wolves. They were all staring at her, some backing away, some at an offensive stance, growling. Adriane couldn't move. She was so scared, yet, for some reason, she felt that the animals weren't going to hurt her. She just felt it, like she could understand them. Once the feeling was back in her legs, she ran. Ran like she never had before. She tore back through the underbrush, finally tripping over herself behind a bush. Finally she came to her senses and found that she had not run that far. She crept back to the edge of the clearing and hid behind some thorn bushes. What she saw was nothing she had ever dreamed of seeing in her entire life. It seemed as if the two animal races were talking. Not in English of course, but just talking in their animalish sort of way. Some of the animals seemed mad at each other. They expressed this feeling with snarls and growls and some pulled back their lips. A silver-white wolf (a she-wolf) and a black and red tom were conversing, and didn't seem to be mad at each other at all. In fact, when the animals started to fight, the leaders (well, the wolf and cat who seemed like they were leaders of some kind) growled at the animals as if they were giving an order, and the wolves and cats would break apart. Adriane couldn't tear herself away from the "meeting" that these animals were having. She began to feel that she respected the "leaders" just as much as the animals did. It was an odd feeling, yet because of that feeling Adriane felt she understood what the animals' Meeting was about. The cats' Leader didn't seem to be talking at all, except for occasional meows. He was always watching the wolves' Leader's body language. It was almost as if he was listening to her.

Finally, after what seemed like five minutes but was really about three hours, the animals departed into opposite sides of the woods, following their leaders. Adriane, thinking that cats were nicer than wolves, decided to follow the cats into their part of the woods. She had fallen far behind since the cats were running, but she could still see their paw prints in the damp mud. Suddenly Adriane heard a yowl very close ahead of her. She slowed her walk and bent lower to the ground. In front of her was a tangle of gorse with a tunnel just big enough to fit a cat through. Adriane could see everything from here and watched with much curiosity as a very large group of cats (about thirty or forty) gathered in the middle of a clearing. She later noticed that the Leader of the cats was in the middle of the group, and he was sitting patiently as the last cats gathered around him. Then he began to talk in his catish sort of way to the crowd. It was amazing. There was more to these forest animals than Adriane had thought.

Mesmerized by the cats and lost in thought, Adriane stepped forward and accidentally stepped on a twig (which made a very loud cracking noise), tripped over a small fallen branch, and screeched in pain as she tumbled through the gorse tunnel into the cats' camp. She sat cringing for a moment, but then she heard a growl. She looked up and noticed that some of the cats had been so stunned by her sudden racket that they were glued to the spot. The cats that weren't so shocked were approaching Adriane, ready to strike. At first Adriane was too scared to move. Then she started backing away towards the bushes. Suddenly the Leader jumped between her and the other cats. He started hissing at them and they soon backed off. Then the Leader turned to Adriane and began advancing on her himself. When Adriane began to back away from him, the cat stopped walking, stretched his neck, and bowed his head, yet still kept his eyes on Adriane as if beckoning her to come forward. Adriane stopped backing away and for some reason that she may never know, bowed her head in response. The Leader stood up and slowly and silently padded over to her and softly touched his cold, black nose to her leg. He then began meowing something to the other cats and, oddly enough, Adriane understood every sound and gesture.

**What's going to happen to Adriane? How is she understanding these animals? Next chapter will come out soon. Sorry if this one was kinda boring. Please R and R! -Spiritwind**


	5. Chapter 4

**AAAHHH! CHAPTER 4! Now you can find out what happens to Adriane. Yay! Enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: This is not not an original story based off the Warriors books by Erin Hunter..._

Chapter 4

"This Giant is not normal," meowed the cat. "It understands us, especially now that I have given it the powers StarClan has commanded it to have. Last night, well after moon high, Lightfire, bless his soul, sent me a vision. It was about this Giant, who apparently is a she-giant, and she was in the forest. She is here to help us. She will not harm us. She is afraid of the wolves, so she decided to follow us back to our camp. You will welcome her as we would welcome one of our own." He fixed the Clan with a stern glare. "Come, child. I shall show you to your new den."

"Wait!" Adriane called after the cat, for she was still quite confused. "Are you speaking English?"

The Leader let out a _mrrow_ of, apparently, cat laughter.

"No, child," he purred. "You have learned our language. Cat. Well, animal, since you can talk to all animals and are not a cat." He proceeded to walk towards a shelter of young trees bursting with leaves. It looked quite comfortable and Adriane was tired, but she was still confused.

"What is your name?" she finally blurted out.

"Darkfire, if you must know. Now please, child. Come. You are in need of much rest."

Reluctantly, her head still swimming with questions, Adriane stood up and followed Darkfire. The other cats suddenly became terrified at how tall she was, and so she proceeded to walk on all fours. To her surprise, a cat behind her hissed, "She's still as big as the biggest wolf in Wolf Tribe!" Adriane winced at the cruel and aggressive comment, but a much nicer and calmer voice replied.

"You already know that giants are very large creatures. Darkfire is probably going to invite her into our clan, so you're going to have to deal with it. I trust her if Darkfire does, and so should you, at least, trust your leader. He knows what he's doing."

Even after these words, Adriane could feel the cold stare of a cat's eyes bearing into her back. She inwardly shivered and was glad as she entered her very private den. She was barely listening as Darkfire showed her to her nest made of mostly rabbit-ear moss, the softest kind of moss ever found. It was rather small, just big enough for her to curl up in it. After Darkfire left she began making tight circles around the nest a couple of times to make the ground softer. Adriane balled herself up and went straight to sleep.

☼☼☼☼☼

Wolf Tribe made their way back to camp. Silver couldn't stop thinking about the lost kits of CatClan as she led the Tribe further into their territory. Blackmoon had promised Darkfire that he would set up a search party in their territory to look, but Silver had this tugging feeling that a badger or raccoon had gotten to them. When they got to camp, she told Cloud to gather up a tracking party to search the whole territory for the kits. Her friend did as she was told while Silver made her way back to her den to think.

Just when Silver lay down in her nest, she was joined in the den by her other best friend, Cedar. He had an astonishing auburn coat and deep blue eyes that shone with laughter. For a minute, Silver just stared at him, mesmerized by how handsome he was. When she noticed how aquard this was, she tore her gaze away and stared at one of the overgrown walls of the den, pretending nothing had happened.

"So," Cedar began, attempting to break the tense air. "What's up?"

"Uh... Oh, nothing much. You?"

"Well, c'mon, we must have something to say. What the hell just happened that we can't talk? We could always talk with no problem."

"You're right. Well, I can't really concentrate after what happened at the meeting. Poor Whitefire!"

"Yeah, that must be terrible!"

They both sighed, looking into the distance of their own thoughts.

"Well, I'm going to go find Cloud. She just organized a tracking patrol to find the kits, but I don't think they should go anymore. Maybe I should check, and we could form our own. Do you want to go?"

"Sure, if you come. Do you want me to get others?"

"Well, no, now I changed my mind. It would be nice if it was just us." Silver looked at her paws and scuffed the ground, embarrassed. "I mean, for old time's sake."

"Yes," Cedar agreed. "That would be nice. I'll wait for you at the entrance."

Silver was surprised to see Cedar practically dancing out of the den. A tingling sensation filled her body, and she swayed from a feeling that was unfamiliar to her. Catching herself, the beta left the den to find Cloud.

"Hey, beta!" Cloud pressed her muzzle to Silver's shoulder in greeting. "What's goin' on?"

"Well, two things I have to tell you. First, Cedar and I are going on a tracking patrol to search for the lost kits. Blackmoon's orders. Wanna come?"

"I would love to, but I was actually thinking of taking an afternoon 'nap', if you know what I mean."

"Oh, of course." Silver could barely hold back the happiness inside her at the thought that she was going to be alone with Cedar. "The other thing is that, well, I think I like Cedar."

"Well that wasn't obvious at all!" Cloud gasped mockingly. "When did _you_ realize?"

"Just now. Don't tell anyone though!" Silver added quickly.

"Of course not," Cloud snorted happily. "But the question is, does he like you?"

"_I_ don't think so. It's not my place to decide. You should know how it is, trying to tell yourself it would be too good to be true if they liked you back."

"Yeah," Cloud sighed. "Well, I wish you good luck on your tracking." She grinned.

"I hope I have that luck. Bye! Have a good rest!" Silver turned tail and bounded across the clearing to where Cedar sat waiting for her like a true gentleman in wait of his lady.

It was the next morning when Cloud woke that she began to feel her first labor pains. She began to howl in agony as she tried to get up, alerting Fallenleaf. The quick thinking healer told Cedar to get Silver. Cloud had wanted her friend to come, although she had not told anyone else. Everyone respected the gifted healer, even more than they respected the alpha.

When Silver arrived, Cloud had begun to have the first pup. Fallenleaf was by her side keeping her calm. She made sure her breathing was steady and that nothing was going wrong. Silver padded over to her friend and told her that everything was going to be alright. She couldn't think of anything else to say – she was too worried.

"C'mon, Cloud, you're almost there," Fallenleaf cooed. Silver began to methodically lick Cloud's lower belly as she had seen Fallenleaf do before on other mothers. There was a happy sigh of adoration as Fallenleaf spotted a small pink-and-black nose appear.

"You can do it, Cloud! I see it's head. Push just a little more..."

Cloud pushed with all her might. Silver stopped her licking to watch the magic. Cloud howled in pain on her last push, and then –

"You did it, Cloud! Your first daughter has been born," Silver cheered. "I'm an aunt!"

"You're done, you did it. Congratulations." Fallenleaf touched her nose to Cloud's head and stepped back to give her some air.

"Wait." Silver cocked her head. "That was it? I thought she was going to have a litter."

Fallenleaf shook her light-brown and black head. "That was it."

"Thank goodness," Cloud panted. She put her head forward to clean and nuzzle her pup as it emitted high pitched squeals. Soon it was stable enough to eat and began to suckle as it's mother gazed on fondly. Silver and Cedar also had fond looks in their eyes as they watched the she-pup. Once in a while they'd glance at each other without the other noticing. On a couple occasions they looked at the same time and immediately got embarrassed and looked away. This was slightly amusing for Cloud, and she decided to have a word with Cedar alone. When she was sure that Silver and Fallenleaf were out of earshot, Cloud went into the conversation.

"Do you like Silver?"

"What!" Cedar was startled. Finally he gathered his wits and replied coolly, "I think she is a good beta and friend. We did grow up together, along with you, remember?"

"Of course I remember! That is why I'm asking, as one of your best friends, do you like-like her."

Cedar hesitated. He took a big breath in, let it out, and then mumbled, "I suppose I do a bit. Don't tell her though! It would be too embarrassing."

"Of course it wouldn't be embarrassing, you turtle brain!" The words tumbled out of Cloud's mouth like a waterfall. She was very excited. "I can't believe you haven't seen it already. Come to think of it, Silver hasn't noticed you like her. Cedar, she likes you too." She stopped herself when she remembered that she wasn't supposed to tell him that.

"You shouldn't be calling me names around your daughter," Cedar replied shyly. "Are you sure she likes me? 'Cause I don't want her to try to avoid me if she gets freaked out." He paused. " Who could like a half-wolf who ran away from home when he was a pup. People still think I'm not loyal." The statement came out in a whine of frustration and sadness. He sniffed and brightened himself up.

"I'm going to tell Silver," he declared, and strutted out of the room.

Cloud licked her pup and panted into her ear, "Who knows, maybe they'll have a pup like you." And, exaughsted, mother and daughter went to sleep side by side in the nursery for the first time.

**Yay! Cloud had a pup! Happy! I wonder if there will be a prophecy for her... shifts eyes Anyway... No wait, I have nothing else to say... Well, see you next chapter! -Spiritwind**


	6. Chapter 5

**Sorry this is so late. WHY HAVEN'T PEOPLE BEEN RESPONDING?!?!?! GRARGH!!!!!! Anyway, READ PLEASE.**

_Disclaimer: I _DO_ own Warriors, and this is an _ORIGINAL_ story based off the books by Erin Hunter._

Chapter 5

When the cats from CatClan were all safely back in camp after a search patrol, mentors took apprentices out to the clearing for training. This was also a time when the WolfTribe and CatClan apprentices got to meet one another. Darkfire woke Adriane so she could go with the warriors-in-training to the clearing to watch. She remembered to walk on all fours and followed the cats out of camp.

At the clearing, Adriane sat cross-legged on the tree stump while watching the training of both clans. With the more experienced apprentices, the mentors from both clans had the cats and wolves have a mock-battle. The cats were told to keep their claws sheathed and the wolves not to use such a ferocious bite. This was very interesting for Adriane to watch, and she longed to join in. She was sad that all she could do was look on.

A few days later, Adriane was more used to the cats and wolves, and them to her. She attended training every day, paying close attention to each tactic. Right now, though, she was thinking about Whitefire. She was worried about her because her kits were still not found. The cream-colored cat was always red-eyed with grief and there were constant patrols. Also, Adriane noticed a new snow-white pup, still only a few days old. She had gone to talk to the mother, Cloud. The pup's name was Snow. Adriane was already taking a liking to the playful pup. She didn't know if it was a girl or a boy, though. Cloud hadn't mentioned that. They had become good friends, and Snow knew Adriane's name. They all sat on the stump together and watched the training. One day, after a few weeks of Adriane's coming, Darkfire joined them to watch.

"I noticed you like to watch the apprentice training," the tom meowed. "Is it just watching you like?"

Adriane thought about her answer, not taking her eyes off the training.

"No," she replied at last, though she didn't think it would do much good. Adriane was human. What could she do with training that was for animals? Not even a wolf could teach her.

"What about the training itself? Do you like that?"

Adriane was startled. She knew where Darkfire was leading her, yet she tried to tell herself it wasn't true.

"Yes, I do like the training. I have already learned much from it."

"I could be your mentor, if you'd like."

Adriane jumped up from her seating position to stare at the cat on all fours, her now usual standing position.

"Really? You would do that? Whitefire told me that you haven't had an apprentice since you were a young warrior," she meowed excitedly. "I mean," she mewed when she had gathered herself, "I would love to become an apprentice."

Darkfire purred with satisfaction. "Good. I'd hoped you would say that. Your apprentice ceremony will be tonight." He trotted off into the woods, his tail held high. Adriane stared after him, mystified. Cloud pressed her nose to the human's cheek.

"Congratulations, Adriane! I wonder what your apprentice name will be."

Adriane turned to look at the beautiful white wolf that was sitting by her side. She hadn't thought of this before. Did she really get a special name for becoming an apprentice?

"My name is going to change? Why?"

"Well, it's not really your apprentice name. I just have the feeling that if you are going to become an apprentice, then you are being accepted into the clan. You will need a clan name. 'Adriane' is not a clan name."

"What do you think my name will be?" Adriane wondered aloud. She did not want to change her name, but if she had to then she would. But Adriane wasn't even sure that she wanted to be part of a clan. They had so many rules and both were having wars againsed each other constantly. She just wanted to have peace, as it was here in the Clearing of the Great Tree, as they called it.

Cloud must have sensed her dilemma because she nuzzled her arm comfortingly. "You are still young, my little daughter. You have much to learn. You may talk to Darkfire if you like, just so he may know what you want. Perhaps he will let you decide with time, even as you are trained."

Adriane began to consider the idea. She did not belong to the clan yet, so Darkfire could not give her orders – she had a free will. Yet she still wanted the clan to accept her as one of their own. Could that ever be, even if their leader accepted her? She knew that what that cat said when she first arrived was not true. Adriane was not even as big as Cloud, who wasn't the largest wolf at all. What would she do?

Thinking more, Adriane finally realized how Cloud had referred to her. Her _daughter_? Adriane was tingling all over, feeling her cheeks turn red. She looked at the she-wolf lovingly. Is that how she really thought of her?

Snow interrupted her thoughts. "I've always wanted to become an apprentice! I want to be the beta like Silver when I grow up." But the pup began to whimper. "Although, that will never happen. I know that I'm not going to ever become a warrior apprentice who gets to fight in real battles."

Cloud licked her pup on the ear. Nudging the wolf's side with her head, Adriane asked, "Why won't Snow become an apprentice?"

The mother sighed. "Because she is a she-wolf. We are not allowed to be in fights that are too ferocious unless there is real help needed because we are the ones who make the clan grow and who are the best hunters. The only she-wolves that are allowed in that sort of fighting are ones that are unable to have pups, like Silver." She hesitated, not sure if she should tell Adriane what she so wanted to get out. "Silver actually lied when she got older. She can have pups, she just wanted to be a warrior, just like Snow does. We were relieved when she was sent a message from the Ancestors that it was approved"

Adriane had heard of Silver from the cats. She was supposed to be a great beta of Wolf Tribe, one of the best either of the clans had ever seen. This rule was not the same for the cats, though. Anyone could be a warrior. And... Snow was a girl? Finally she had an answer without sounding rude.

Before Adriane could say anything else, Cloud growled into her ear. "Please don't tell anyone that she is a girl. I want her dreams to come true, so she shall become an apprentice. For now the rest of the clan thinks she is a boy. Only Silver and Cedar know."

Adriane was surprised that Cloud had told her best friend; it would be so much pressure on her. As beta she had to obey the ancient ways of the Tribe, yet she would be torn for her desire to do a favor for Whitecloud. She was not a wolf that was obsessively devoted to the laws, she was just loyal.

Adriane turned her attention to a couple of older CatClan apprentices that were having a tussle in the dirt. Neither of them were getting hurt, which was both good and bad as Adriane had learned. It was good that they were both good at defensive moves and agility, but it also meant that they weren't as good at attacking. The mentors of these two were watching closely, occasionally meowing advice. A few minutes later, both soon-to-be warriors were panting, out of breath. Adriane was surprised to see that the mentors praised the young toms for their performance. They would be becoming warriors in around a week and their mentors were telling them that they were ready now. Adriane was suddenly reminded of Darkfire and stood to leave, touching noses with her wolf friends.

Adriane reached the entrance to the nursery where she expected Darkfire would be. She mewed his name, making sure the echo wouldn't wake any sleeping mothers. The clan leader appeared at the door and beckoned the human in with a wave of his tail. As she entered, Adriane noticed that Whitefire was lying down and was scarily thin, certainly thinner than she should be. Why wasn't she eating? Whitefire never lost hope.

"Who is it?" the cream cat asked weakly. There was a slight rasp to her voice. When she looked up to see Adriane her face brightened. "Ah, Adriane, how nice it is to see you!" She stifled a cough, but it was in vain. She began coughing numerous times from her sudden outburst. Adriane was worried for the cat. Grief had overcome her to depression at the loss of her kits, and she wasn't healthy at all. It was then that Adriane noticed another tom sitting beside Whitefire. His pelt was a blazing orange-red color, like Foxpaw, and he looked more concerned than Darkfire about the female. Adriane knew him – he was Flameear, Whitefire's mate. He licked her chest until she stopped coughing, then turned to Adriane with a nervous mew.

"We are glad to see you, Little One."

This is what the clan mates that the human was closest to called her. It had more of a meaning than just what it said. In clan talk, if someone called you "little one" it meant you were special to them in a way that you were honored. Adriane smiled as she acknowledged this, but kept to her business.

Looking around, she noticed that the medicinecat, Boulderfoot, was not present. She remembered that he had left the Clan for a while on a mission to find a certain type of herb that had stopped growing in Clan territory. The cats tried best they could to follow instructions he had left them so no one would die while he was away.

"Darkfire, I wish to speak to you about my apprenticeship." The tom looked surprised but let her go on with a nod. "I... I don't know how to say this." It was harder than she had expected, but now that Adriane had started, she couldn't just say it was nothing. "I don't know if I want to become part of your clan."

All three cats whipped their heads in her direction, staring at her as though she were rotting prey. Adriane felt horrible. She didn't want it to come out this way! What was she going to do? Suddenly feeling faint, Adriane took a deep breath and mewed so softly that it was almost a mutter.

"Darkfire, I'm feeling a little queasy. This wasn't supposed to sound like that. Can I go for a short walk?"

All gazes softened and Darkfire meowed, "Of course, Little One. Take as long as you'd like."

Adriane bowed her head respectfully and left the den. She made her way across the camp to the entrance made of ghost ferns. Her intended walk turned into a hunting spree, for she needed Whitefire to eat, and the coming fall would bring less prey for the rest of the Clan. Animals flourished among undergrowth that covered the forest floor almost completely. Hearing a rustling near a thorn bush, Adriane went into the best hunting crouch she could manage. She had watched new apprentices do this many times before in the Clearing of the Great Tree. Although she didn't have pads, she was pretty quiet. She spotted her prey as it nibbled on a short strand of grass. A plump rabbit! How perfect. Adriane had become accustomed to killing animals and eating them raw. It was bad for a human, but Darkfire said that StarClan would watch over her and make sure she didn't get sick. She got used to the food and was growing to like it if she added some wild garlic or onion to it. Occasionally she found some blueberries that added a touch of flavor closer to the Boulder Mountains.

Adriane made her way back to camp with the rabbit and a mouse in her jaws. As she entered the camp there were many staring eyes full of approval and surprise that the human had caught even this small amount on her first time hunting without a rock or sharp stick. She dropped the mouse on the food pile and made her way to the nursery with the rabbit, ignoring the penetrating stares.

Adriane dropped her rabbit in front of Whitefire. All three pairs of eyes were on her, pleased at how she had learned the ways of a hunter so quickly and without training. Whitefire's eyes sparkled, but pushed the prey away from her.

"No, Little One. I do not wish to eat, but I thank you for the offer."

Adriane pushed the food back in front of the cat. "Eat it," she mewed. "You need your strength for when we find the kits." Noticing the dull expression that came to Whitefire's face she added, "And we _will_ find them. Never lose hope."

Cat and human locked eyes and a strange vibe passed on the line of the gaze. There was understanding for a moment as Whitefire looked into the human's eyes. _She is different_. In turn, Adriane felt the sorrow that the she-cat felt and nearly keeled over from the force of her sadness.

Whitefire felt many things: Sadness, frustration, anger at whoever did this. Yet, she did not wish ill of the cat-napper. She pitied whoever did it and wished that they could know what they had done to her and the clan by taking the kits away. She had little hope left, though in the beginning she looked every day. Now she had given up and was too weak from depression and hunger to search for her only prized possessions. She didn't have any other kits because this was her first litter, and probably her last whether she recovered or not. She was not as young as she used to be. Yet now, as the bond between them grew, Whitefire's hope restored slightly by the human's words and she understood that she needed strength.

Eye contact broke as Whitefire lowered her head to eat.

"Thank you," Flameear purred softly. His hope had never really left, only because he kept telling himself that the kits would be found. He now had more hope than he used to a few moments before, but he was happier than anything about the fact that Whitefire was eating a full meal.

Adriane turned back to Darkfire. "I wish to start our earlier conversation over, if that's alright."

"Go ahead," he meowed.

"I don't know if I want to become part of anything yet," she began. "I feel like I just got here, and I don't wish to have rules set just yet. There are also cats in the clan that still don't trust me, and they spit whenever they see me and growl insults. I do wish to be an apprentice, though, but you don't have to do that if you don't want to. I would understand."

Darkfire was calm. He first asked who was doing anything rude to her.

"Oh, lots of cats, mostly toms, but some of the more ferocious females."

"I shall have a word with them, if you could give me some names..."

"I'll claw their tails off!" Whitefire hissed suddenly. She had finished the whole rabbit. Adriane was pleased, as were the other cats.

"No, please, I do not wish for them to be in trouble. And if they found out that I told you about them, they would hate me even more." Her meow was pleading.

"Fair enough, Adriane. Anyway, it is fine with me if you wish to make a postponed decision." Darkfire then stalked out of the cave to get prey for all the cats, even more for Whitefire, so they could talk more about plans to find the missing kits.

"I'm proud of you," Cloud sighed into her ear. She and Snow were sharing a rabbit they had brought to the Clearing. Adriane grinned and purred happily. She was basking in her part-mother's praise when she noticed that the sun had set beyond the horizon.

"Oh, no! I'm going to be late," she yipped with surprise as she jumped to her feet. "Bye, guys," she meowed hastily as she dashed into the direction of the camp.

"Good luck!" she heard Snow call after her.

**YAY! Adriane will be part of the Clan! Well, _maybe_. Read more to find out! R AND R OR I'LL CLAW YOUR EARS OFF!!! Luv ya always! -Spiritwind**


	7. Chapter 6

**Yo! Sorry this chapter is short, but I have not had very much time to write. Anyway, thanks to those who gave me responses. To those who didn't, you'd better or...or...or _something_! Yeah, that's right! Enjoy reading!**

_Disclaimer: I only own the second series of Warriors, but I read the other half. This is an original story, but it was, in fact, based off the Warriors books by Erin Hunter. And we all love those books, don't we?_

Chapter 6

Adriane was relieved when she reached camp just as Darkfire yowled the meeting call. Adriane trotted to the front of the crowd, her clothes dirty and torn so that you could see her skin all over. She needed to get to a stream so she could wash off. She didn't have the luxury of a rough tongue.

"Good evening. This meeting is for all cats, young and old. Nearly a week ago, StarClan sent me a message about this wonderful, young Giant, as you all know. She has become a good friend of Whitefire, Flameear, and myself. Now we call her to stand beside me as I ask StarClan to bless her with all their heart on her becoming an apprentice."

Adriane had been curious what the clan's reaction would be, and now her answer came in varied tones. Gasps, hisses, purrs, growls, and even some yowling of both approval and disagreement. Darkfire waited for the noise to die down so that he could be heard. He raised his voice above the racket and all fell silent.

"Come, Little One, and let the great spirits of the past envelope you into a new world you would never have dreamed of in your Giant life." Adriane padded shyly to stand next to Darkfire. Again she felt eyes boring into her back, but most stares weren't hostile. Adriane glowed as she shakily bowed her head for her blessing. "StarClan, I call upon you to guide this Giant into apprenticeship as one of these woods. No longer shall she be known as a Giant, but as Hawkpaw to all who wish to be respected." He swept his gaze over the clan, making sure every one of them got his message. Some lowered their heads, some just returned his piercing stare innocently. "Rise, Hawkpaw." She raised her head and the tom traditionally touched noses with her, a binding loyalty contract. Human and cat held that position for a moment. Hawkpaw never would have imagined anything like this! She was warm, yet could sense the chilling night air of the coming Fall around her. There was nothing stirring the trees, yet a soft breeze blew in opposite directions from where the noses met. Hawkpaw closed her eyes to lap in the feeling as Darkfire did. Hawkpaw heard a whisper in her head.

_You have done well, Adriane. We never would have thought you would befriend our old friends if you went with the cats._

_Hunh?_ Hawkpaw thought._ Who are you?_ The voice sounded oddly familiar and it made Hawkpaw feel an empty feeling inside, yet she was happy to hear the voice again.

_You know who we are, Aine,_ said another familiar voice. It was her parents!

_Mom! Dad! I've missed you so much._ A tear ran down her cheek. It hovered on her chin as she shivered, trying to hold back a sob. _I tried to wake you, but you just told me everything would be okay and to get out of the house. Why? Did you know what you were saying?_

_Yes, honey. We had foreseen it._ Hawkpaw was confused. _We are descendants from the tribe of Indians that lived here. We knew the wolves, yes._ It was her mother talking now. Her voice was full of sorrow. _Our ancestors are in what is now called by the animals StarClan, and they sent us both the same message the night the fire happened. They told us about the fighting and the losses both clans have and will have. They said the only way for them to find peace and happiness was if we died and you went to save the clans._

_But, I don't understand. Why couldn't you just let me go to the woods for a while until everything was better, and then have me return home?_

Her father spoke now, with even more regret in his voice. _There are a couple reasons, but we can only tell you one. It is because we, as parents, would have been too worried about you. The other reason you will find out with time. And, Darkfire?_

_Yes?_ came the cat's familiar voice.

_You know she can't be in your Clan. We told you that when we sent you the vision. Why give her the feeling that she could be?_

_I wanted to see what she would do, _he purred, amused. _She is a very bright kit._

_Thank you, and you'd better not say otherwise,_ Hawkpaw's mom said, but her voice was fading. _Adriane, we must leave now. Don't be afraid. We will visit you when the time is right again. Please, believe in the clans._

_Goodbye, our little pup, and don't forget that we love you even now that we're gone. _She could barely hear their voices.

_Don't go! _she pleaded, but she knew it was in vain.

_Little One, we must return to life now,_ Darkfire meowed sympathetically.

Hawkpaw blinked a number of times. She noticed her face was wet with tears, and the cold air stung her cheeks and nose. But one thing she also noticed was, of what she could see, her nose was a little black, and she knew it wasn't only wet from tears. The crowd of cats didn't seem to notice anything abnormal, and even though she had talked for a while with her parents, no time seemed to have passed. Hawkpaw was shivering slightly, from the cold and from the shock and joy of hearing her parents' voices again.

"It'll be okay," Darkfire murmured into her ear. Addressing the clan, he meowed, "Hawkpaw's transformation has begun. Each day she will become more and more like a being of the forest and less like the Giant that she used to be." He turned back to Hawkpaw. "Now sleep out here with StarClan as you are welcomed into this forest's world. Like I said when we first met, you are not a normal Giant. Not normal at all. Your life will change completely from this day forward as you take your first step tonight into your training."

**Adriane's transformation? Huh? Welllll, keep reading and find out what Darkfire means. R AND FREAKIN R! Thanks for reading! -Spiritwind**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey, I tried to get this up sooner because I probably won't have time to update over the week, but afterwards I should have lots of time. Who here hates homework? I DO!!!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own the first part of the Warriors books, but I own the second part, besides Twilight. This is an original story based off the books by Erin Hunter._

Chapter 7

Snow watched her new and first friend Adriane dash to her apprenticeship ceremony. She sighed with longing to get that kind of happiness at her ceremony, but, being a girl, she knew she would only be a hunter.

"Come, Snow, let's go home." Her mother licked between Snow's ears to get her attention.

Snow looked up into her mother's golden-yellow eyes through her own gray-blue ones. Seeing how tired Cloud was, she stood with her and left as the last of the apprentices and mentors began flaking off to their camps.

Once in the safety of the trees, Snow started sniffing every leaf and plant she came across. Though her smell sense was still weak from her terribly young age, there was an unfamiliar scent mingling in the air. When she looked up at Cloud to ask her if she smelled it too, the answer was in her mother's bristling neck fur.

"Yeah, I smell it too," Cloud said when she glanced at her young daughter's quizzical expression.

"Should we be afraid?" Snow asked.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think so. This smells more like dog than anything else. I just want to know if they're bad or not. I'm sure it's fine." But when Snow looked into her mother's eyes she could see the worry and smell a faint fear scent pulsing off her. "Let's hurry home just in case," Cloud added. She snatched Snow by the scruff and ran to the camp.

There were two other pups in the Tribe, both males, about a week older than Snow. Rain, a gray and white, strong, clever, and kind hearted pup with golden eyes, and his brother Shadow, a pup with fur blacker than a starless, moonless night, and eyes pure gray as the moon in winter. Shadow was a peculiar pup, very independent and solitary. No matter how hard Snow tried, he would never play with her or his brother. The most he would to was watch. Both pups knew Snow was a girl, but, like the rest of the Tribe, thought she could never have pups of her own.

When Snow and Cloud got to the camp, Cloud went straight to Blackmoon, Silver, and Cedar, who were all gathered by Spirit Rock. Snow went to find Rain and Shadow in the nursery.

Sure enough, there they were, Rain attempting to play tag with his brother, and Shadow ignoring his prodding sibling, staring at a beetle. When Snow padded over, Rain gave up on Shadow and flounced over to his friend.

"Hey, Snow!" They touched noses in greeting. "Want to play tag? Shadow's being his usual self. You know him," Rain sighed, shaking his head.

"Sure, I'd like to play!" Snow replied happily. But when she looked at Shadow all by himself, she changed her mind. "Well, actually, I'm kind of tired." She faked a yawn. "Why don't we just sit and talk a little?"

"Sure, we can do that, but why? You seemed excited about tag a moment ago."

With a glance at Shadow and a long look into Rain's questioning eyes, Snow knew she had to tell her friend the truth.

"The truth is, I wanted to try and talk to Shadow. He looks so lonely," she added with a sad look at the black pup.

"Okay, good luck with that. I doubt he'll open up, even to you," Rain teased. Snow was known to all the Tribe as one of the most kind hearted wolves in the forest, and one of the easiest to talk to. When Rain turned to chase a leaf, Snow tentatively approached Shadow. He only looked up for a moment when she flopped down beside him.

"Hey, Shadow! Whatcha doin'?" Without looking up, Shadow shrugged, his eyes always following the beetle's every move. Concerned, Snow asked, "Anything bothering you? You looked lonely."

"No," Shadow grunted.

Knowing she was getting nowhere, Snow comfortingly licked Shadow's shoulder and laid her head in her paws, joining in watching the beetle. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Shadow look up at her for a moment, then clone her position.

"Why are you guys so _boring_?" Rain wailed as he bounded over to them. "What's so interesting about a beetle? Come play!" He jumped up and down with anticipation.

Snow longed to join in his play, but something held her back, drawing her to Shadow. "Why don't we just rest awhile?" she suggested. "It's nice to just sit and talk."

Feeling Shadow shift next to her, Snow turned to make direct eye contact with his moon-gray eyes. The emotion in them was almost unreadable, but Snow caught a glimpse of thanks in the black pup's gaze. She gave him a slight nod and blinked, telling Shadow an unspoken, "It's nothing."

"Well, I want to have some fun and get out all this energy I have bottled up in here." Shadow and Snow jumped and whipped their heads around to look up at Rain. "I'll go ask Wind if I can go watch the apprentices at the Clearing."

Wind was Shadow and Rain's mother. She had a coat almost identical to Rain's, but with a different pattern. The she-wolf was dozing in a sunlight corner of the nursery coming from a crack in the top of the rock cave. Snow and Shadow watched as Rain danced over to Wind, had a few words with her, then trot out of the nursery with a good-bye wave of his tail. Soon after that, Fallenleaf slipped into the cave.

"Hey, pups. Wind sent me to look after you while she's gone with Rain on a walk." She looked down on the two with her kind amber eyes. "Perhaps we could go looking for herbs? I'm in need of a few."

Delighted, Snow leapt to her paws. "Really? I would love to learn about herbs." Turning to Shadow, though, her thoughts dimmed. He looked on with an unreadable expression, but Snow didn't give up. "Oh, Shadow, please? We wouldn't have to do anything too lively. It's just taking a walk and picking some plants."

Shadow looked doubtful, but as he locked eyes with Snow, he saw how much she wanted to go. "Sure, that's fine with me," he said at last. Rising to his paws, he padded out with the other two into the dim light of a setting sun.

"I need some marigold for infections. We've been having many battles lately, so I want to be prepared," Fallenleaf barked, once under the safe canopy of leaves. "It looks like this," she nosed a tuft of golden-yellow flowers. "You just gnaw them off by the bottom of the stem." She demonstrated for the pups with expert care. "Make sure not to pull the roots out so they will grow back, and also don't crush the part we're using. Don't eat them!" she added as the pups bounded off to a further patch of the herbs. Shaking her head, Fallenleaf sighed at the pups' recklessness and went back to her work.

Snow bounded over to the patch of marigolds with Shadow at her shoulder. She looked at his excited expression and it was then that she noticed how happy he seemed. Shadow had opened up to her, and now, maybe, was the time to talk. But the opening statement wasn't as easy to figure out as it had seemed. Even as the shadows of the trees became darker, the pups worked on in silence as Snow thought of a way to let Shadow in and find the key to his lock. Soon it would be time to go home. Panicking, Snow decided to just jump right in.

"You know, you're a peculiar pup," she began tentatively, voice shaking slightly.

Shadow looked up, eyes full of puzzlement. "What do you mean?" he arfed.

Snow scuffed the ground with her forepaw. "Well, you are always so reserved. You never talk or play, unlike any of the pups that have ever been born." Shadow's eyelids narrowed over his gray eyes, but the expression gave nothing away. Afraid that she had hit a soft spot, Snow quickly stammered on, trying to gather things up. "I was just worried something is troubling you all the time."

Shadow's gaze softened and he looked at his paws. Then, right when Snow thought he was going to tell her the problem, "Come, pups! It's time to go!" Fallenleaf's soft howl echoed from somewhere nearby.

Shadow shut his mouth that had opened to reply and shook his head saying, "C'mon, let's go. Wind should be waiting for me, and Cloud for you."

_What a shame_, Snow thought as she padded alongside Shadow to meet up with Fallenleaf, marigold stems filling all three wolf mouths. _Just when I was going to get through to him. Oh, well._ She sighed, then tried to bring back up her sunken spirits, _If I did it once, I can do it again_.

"What did they say?" Snow asked Cloud. She was curious what Blackmoon and Silver had decided to do about the danger both she and her mother had felt in the forest.

Cloud shrugged, "Silver was calm about it, being her sensible self, while, of course, Blackmoon got territorial and said that instead of a tracking patrol to find them, we should send a hunting patrol to kill the intruders, if any." The white she-wolf sighed. "Sometimes I worry about him..." For a moment, Cloud stared off into the distance at something unknown to anyone else. After giving herself a shake, Cloud continued. "Well, in the end, Silver convinced Blackmoon that she would take care of it, and she's sending out a search party to find what it is that spooked us. She ordered them to bring who or whatever it is back to camp for an investigation. I find my self not able to wait 'till she's Alpha," Cloud sighed.

Snow looked at her mother in shock from her remark about their alpha. She was supposed to give him all her respect and trust. But, the young wolf had to admit, she had her own doubts about Blackmoon. He was so violent and irrational all the time, thinking only of himself, unless he was carrying his loyalty to the Tribe too far. Snow had to give him credit, though, for these things because they were mostly for protecting the Tribe and their loyalty to him.

Cloud, seeing her daughter's look, licked her twice over the ears and told her not to worry as they made their way to the nursery. They had not even set paw on the chilled dirt inside the cave when Rain leapt from the shadows, bowling Snow onto her back. She yipped in surprise and was momentarily stunned before recovering her nerve. The pups wrestled in the dust, nipping playfully at ears and tail. Finally, they leapt apart coughing and looking rather disheveled from the dust cloud they had created. Cloud had vanished into the nursery to chat with Wind at the end of the cave. The pups walked in, shaking themselves as they went in vain attempt to clean themselves. Seeing their offsprings' disgraceful appearance, the mothers trotted over to Rain and Snow to give them a wash. Rain growled mock protests, struggling to escape his mother's tight grasp on his ruff as she carried him over to Cloud and her own sitting area. Snow was carried there too, but had only let out a whimper before allowing herself to be plopped on the floor and licked clean without complaint. Rain, on the other hand, was set down lightly on the ground so he wouldn't harm himself with all his straining, and though he did not attempt to leave, the gray pup sat back on his haunches and pouted until he was done.

"Now, you can go wherever you want, as long as it's inside the edges of the camp and you don't get dirty again," Wind growled softly, something more related to a purr than anything vicious. Cloud laughed in her wolf way, jaws spreading slightly and her tongue lolling out, in agreement. Rain pretended to sulk until he reached a dark corner of the stone walls, then, thinking he was unwatched, began to nip at the ferns growing a few feet off the ground in the cracks of the cave. Snow, however, branched off to sit with Shadow after obviously lying to Rain that her limbs were exhausted from their tussle earlier. Rain seemed untroubled by this, though, and retreated back into the corner.

Wind sighed, and when Cloud looked into her eyes she saw puzzlement in her friend's eyes. She did not need to ask, for the she-wolf had begun to converse.

"I don't understand Shadow," she whined softly so the pups wouldn't hear. "He's so unsocial. Rain is completely his opposite, and that can't be good because he acts like a normal, healthy pup. Do you think Shadow is sick?"

Cloud considered, then shook her head. "No, I think it is his personality. Either that, or he is afraid to show his real self because something happened in his life that restricts his mind from feeling."

"But how could there possibly be something so bad in his life! I mean, how long has it been since he was born? A moon?"

Cloud shrugged. "Considering the age, things could effect him more easily, don't you think?"

"I suppose," Wind sighed. "Oh, that reminds me." The silver-gray wolf turned to look Cloud square in the face. Cloud gazed softly back at her friend, curious. "Your daughter, Snow..."

"Yes...?"

"She—How is she so nice!" she suddenly exclaimed. Cloud's eyes flew wide in surprise.

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, she could be having the time of her life with Rain, playing like a young pup should, but she chooses to sit with Shadow and make him feel wanted."

"Well, don't you do that?"

"Yes, but he always just pushes me away or just doesn't respond. Snow must be doing something right because Shadow seems happy whenever she goes to him."

The white wolf shrugged again, knowing that her pup had a way with other living things. "I don't know how she does it, but it is a good thing, isn't it?

"Well, of course! I've never seen Shadow as happy as he is for a long time." Wind's gaze at her pup suddenly grew clouded and unreadable.

"Wind..." Cloud's voice trailed off, afraid of the reaction she would get after asking this, but it was too late to turn back now. "Wind, do you think it has something to do with Mist?"

With that, Wind couldn't take any more, and she started to sob, shaking her head sadly.

"That is the only thought that keeps crossing my mind. I can't believe he's gone."

Cloud licked her friends flank and sympathetically pressed her nose into Wind's fur. The loss of her eldest pup in a battle long ago had been too much for the she-wolf so soon after losing her mate. But Wind was strong and it wasn't long before she gulped down the lump in her throat and sniffed, assuring Cloud that she would be okay. Both mothers sighed and lay down, watching their pups converse.

Shadow was staring at his paws again. Snow decided that she shouldn't question him now, but as she settled down next to him, Shadow turned his gray eyes upon his new-found friend.

"Hey." Though he sulked, Shadow's eyes were warm and welcoming, but when he looked back at the ground, his expression suddenly became unreadable.

"Shadow," Snow began, but she didn't need to go any further because her friend stood and beckoned her to follow with a swish of his coal-black tail. Obediently, Snow followed, not knowing where she would be led. She could feel her mother's eyes on her, and she held her breath, hoping that the pups wouldn't be questioned, and when they left the cave without delay, the she-wolf let out her breath in a sigh of relief.

As Snow padded after Shadow, she realized he was leading her to a small gap in the boundaries of the camp. She knew he intended to leave, and she knew that it was dangerous with unknown prowlers, but she followed, not wanting to change Shadow's mind.

No one noticed the small pups leave through the gap, and Shadow led Snow safely down to a narrow creek with a clump of large, smooth rocks bordering a section of the stream. It was on one of these rocks that Shadow lay down and began sobbing into his forepaws. Snow rested herself next to him, her fur gently yet reassuringly brushing his. She licked sympathetically at his shoulder, calming him. Shadow cried for a while, his eyes clouded with sadness and glassy with tears. The sun had set when Shadow was ready to talk.

"I can't be happy without him. I just can't!" he howled in dismay. "I don't understand how Mother does it, or Rain. How can they live without him?"

For the first time in her young life, Snow was at a loss for words of comfort, or any words at all. She didn't have a father, but that was completely different from losing a brother you had known and loved your whole life. When she raised her eyes from the shadowed rock, she was face to face with Shadow, his feelings reflecting in her own eyes.

Unable to hold their gaze, Snow looked back down at the rock, but she did so politely so it would not seem that she wasn't able to feel sorry for him and understand. She was relieved when Shadow took this the right way and translated it as a queue to go on.

"I miss Mist so much," he sobbed. "I—" But he was unable to go on. He was choked by the tears and memories that caused a lump in his throat. It was then that Snow look up, comforting best she could physically, if not verbally.

Snow could not question further, knowing that Shadow was hurting too much for that. She knew he had confirmed her original hypothesis, but there was something nagging her at the back of her mind, something she could not discover unless Shadow told her himself, without any pressure. Snow had a feeling that she had not been told the whole reason why he was sad. Shadow had cheered up a bit after a day or two following Mist's death, and it was only later that he had gotten depressed. It had to be something else, along with this.

_Well_, she thought¸_ better not worry about that now. He'll notice something, and plus this is the thing that is bothering him at the moment._

The pups sat side by side by a string of moonlight that glistened on the almost silently gurgling creek. Snow pressed her flank against his, letting the warmth and comfort from her heart seep into Shadow's body. It was Shadow who decided their mothers would be wondering where they were, so the pups padded home in silence, each enveloped in their own thoughts. Neither one noticed the watchful eyes of unwelcome strangers staring after them as they went back through the gap and into the camp.

**What's wrong with Shadow? So sad...:( but hopefully Snow can figure things out! Keep on the lookout for updates! Rand R! -Spiritwind**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi! I'm glad I could get this out. It will probably be the last chapter of the week. Sorry! Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed. To those who didn't... grrrr... Anyway, happy reading!**

_Disclaimer: This is an original story based off the Warriors books by Erin Hunter. I own The New Prophecy. Cool, right? Am I right? Anyone? Okay, no one reads these anyway._

Chapter 8

Hawkpaw woke, feeling quite refreshed--Stiff from sleeping on the hard dirt instead of a bed, but refreshed. She was damp with dew on her hair and torn clothing. There was an unusual chill to her nose, aside from the foreboding morning chill of the coming fall. Hawkpaw crossed her eyes to look down her nose and noticed it was a little darker than usual. Shrugging this off, the girl went to collect sticks for a fire on which to roast her breakfast.

The chirp of the birds was pleasant and welcoming, and sunlight drifted through the trees making dappled designs on the undergrowth. The sun was not yet visible through the trees, but as time passed, Hawkpaw was getting warmer and warmer. She gently pushed a small branch aside for her to pass between two trees, discovering a small area scattered with twigs. Being alone, Hawkpaw was standing, the forest floor not bothering her now tough soled feet, the effect of not wearing shoes for a long time. She proceeded to crawl on her hands and knees, gathering the sticks. Being human, Hawkpaw did not hear, smell, or sense the approaching strangers. It was only when they were a couple feet away from her did she notice that something was unusual about the stirring of leaves here. She crouched, stone still, before spinning around, startling the dogs that she met behind her. She cocked her head in curiosity, wondering why there were six domestic dogs, all of different common breeds, wandering through a ferocious-wolf-and-cat packed forest. The dogs seemed ready to run, but Hawkpaw stopped them.

"Wait! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

A hesitation followed. Then a small border collie stepped forward. "First we will ask that you do us no harm, as we mean no harm." The dog was obviously a puppy, but its intelligence was unquestionable.

"Well, of course," Hawkpaw said in an tone that stated they should know better, but she cocked and eyebrow in suspicion. "What do you want?" she barked, not rudely, yet not giving away her curiosity and lack of knowledge on what to do.

"It's kind of a long story..." A brown-and-white corgy puppy shuffled his paws in embarrassment.

Hawkpaw thought for a moment.

"Then I must take you to the Leader."

They left only after the girl had finished collecting her sticks, and the trip was going fine. No one had uttered a word, but the silence was broken after a while by a young golden retriever, possibly the youngest of the dogs.

"What's the Leader?"

The rotweiler, the oldest, glanced at him and growled him to silence, but Hawkpaw, now on all fours again, shook her head and looked over her shoulder at the dogs.

"That's okay. I will answer. What harm would it do?"

The rotweiler shrugged, not meeting her gaze.

"The Leader is... Could we _please_ stop walking? I hate looking over my shoulder. It gives me neck cramps!"

The puppies stopped dead in their tracks and sat down on their haunches, all except the rotweiler, who remained standing, obviously not wanting to admit that he was of less authority than a human. Hawkpaw chose to ignore this.

"I'm Adri—I mean, I'm Hawkpaw. I live with CatClan." She paused, not knowing if she should ask for the dogs' names. The black-and-white border collie continued for her.

"My name is Tess. These are my friends." She gestured to the other dogs, giving them a look so they would say their own names in turn.

"I'm Bekky!" barked an energetic looking black-and-white boston terrier. Her tail was wagging wildly.

"I'm Cort," said the corgy, giving Bekky a scolding look for being so immature, but failed to hide the affection in his amber eyes.

The gold, black, and gray husky puppy went next. "I'm Cloe."

The golden retriever glanced nervously at the rotweiler before whining cautiously, "I'm Buddy."

The brown-and-black rotweiler seemed reluctant to respond, but he managed to grunt, "Spike," when Tess gave him a nudge.

"Alright, now that we all know each other, I can explain. The Leader of our Clan is, well, do you know what a leader is?"

Buddy cocked his head. "Hmmm?"

Hawkpaw sighed. "A leader is someone who directs people so they have rules and so if someone does something wrong, they can be punished fairly by that leader." She paused for a reaction, but now all of the dogs looked confused. "Ugh! I was never any good at explaining things. Well, to put it bluntly, a leader is someone who rules over a group of other living things. Is that good enough?"

"Never mind, that was fine, right, Buddy?" Cloe said, rising to her paws.

"Uh..." Buddy blinked a couple of times letting the new defenition sink in. "Yeah, that's fine. Whatever."

He didn't sound very convinsing to Hawkpaw, but she decided not to bore them further. They were already off, it seemed to her, to a slightly bumpy start.

The group traveled on in silence again until they reached the camp. Hawkpaw had made them wait, giving them instructions so they would make a good impression.

"Stay close to me, the furthest up about to my middle. Don't look too proud," she glanced at Spike at that. "You will seem too confident and look like you're planning something. I will take you directly to Darkfire, the Leader." She paused, stunned to silence by calling Darkfire the Leader for the first time. It was only a word, but saying it make Hawkpaw realize how powerful he was. It made her feel so distant from him.

Shrugging off the feeling, Hawkpaw trotted over to the nursery, where Darkfire would most likely be. She signaled for the dogs to wait outside while she took a peek inside the dim, rock-walled cave. Whitefire was sitting with Flameear, sharing a rabbit. There was no sign of Darkfire.

Not wanting to walk in on a conversation, Hawkpaw cleared her throat for attention. The cats looked up immediately.

"Oh, Little One, welcome! Where have you been all morning?" Whitefire purred. Her fur was silkier and her eyes brighter than a few days before. She had started eating and walking around again, taking Hawkpaw's past words seriously.

"I was looking for twigs for a fire. Hey, have you seen Darkfire?" she asked, getting right to the point.

"Yes, he just went back to his den. Why?"

Hawkpaw considered telling them for a moment, then quickly decided against it. Even though she trusted Whitefire and Flameear, gossip traveled fast among the Clan, and she did not want anyone to get the wrong impression of the puppies.

"It's urgent. No time to explain." She knew this would cause suspision, but at least it gave her an exuse not to tell them and to leave quickly before they scented the dogs.

Hurrying out of the nursery, Hawkpaw led the dogs to Darkfire's den. She meowed, requesting entrance at the opening in the ferns. A welcoming mew sounded from slightly below the group. They quietly stepped inside.

Hawkpaw had never been inside Darkfire's den before, and she was awestruck by the beauty and skill in which it was constructed. There was a tunnel of large ferns, though too small for Hawkpaw, that led downward to a small dip in the earth. The roof over the dip was a good five feet high, high enough for Hawkpaw to stand on her two feet. This covering was made of green gorse and thornbushes, saplings, branches, and flowing ferns, all laced together to form a mesh that would not let rain in, but was thin enough so the whole den was shaded green with the light that flowed in through the leaves.

"Hawkpaw!" Darkfire purred when she stepped down out of the tunnel. He did not seemed bothered or suspicious when the dogs cautiously entered, looking around in wonder. He merely cocked his head curiously and kindly asked, "And who is this?"

"Tess, Buddy, Cloe, Bekky, Cort, and Spike," Hawkpaw said, gesturing to each one in turn.

Darkfire studied them more intensely now, but not dangerously so. "Human names? Were you pets?"

"Yes," Cort growled softly. "We ran away from our homes because our humans were neglecting us."

"Well, I'll see what I can do. You know, the wolves scented you guys on their territory. Be careful while wandering about before everyone knows your scent, or you may meet the end for you here. You're lucky it was Hawkpaw who found you. Any other Clan memeber would have had you ripped to shreds by now."

The dogs were petrified by the prospect of thorn sharp claws and teeth digging into their skin, even Spike, but Darkfire laughed.

"It'll be alright. I'll make an announcement now." He stood and left the den, and the others followed after a moment of hesitation.

"That was quick," Hawkpaw heard Cloe mumble. She silently agreed. Darkfire could really surprise her sometimes.

Once out of the tunnel, Hawkpaw led the dogs to the gathering place in the middle of the camp. Darkfire did not need to yowl the meeting call because all the cats were already following him, some already sitting in a simicircle around where their Leader would stand.

Darkfire sat at his normal spot, and when Hawkpaw and the dogs did not sit with him, he asked the puppies to join him. They obediantly padded over, sensing the cat's authority, but they looked around warily at the cats assembled for the meeting.

"Good morning, friends!" Darkfire began. "Early today, jsut after sunrise, Hawkpaw went looking for twigs so she could cook her fire. While out there, she discovered these six dogs." He gestured to the group, naming each one in turn. "They used to live with Giants, but they were forced to leave home because they were neglected by the humans. They left together, coming to our forest. They have been on their own for a couple of days. I suspect that these are the things Silver and Blackmoon informed me one of their packmates had sensed. I request that Flameear and Hawkpaw go to the Tribe's camp and inform them of the situation. I will take care of our acquaintances here."

Hawkpaw watched the Clan disperse and Darkfire begin to speak with the dogs before going to find Flameear. At first she wondered why Darkfire had chosen him to go instead of himself or Whitefire, but she guessed that he needed to deal with the dogs and didn't trust that Whitefire could handle anything too important right now because she was still weak.

It was Flameear that found her first, after saying his good-byes to Whitefire.

"Hey, Little One. Let's get a move on. I want to get back before sunhigh is long gone."

"Sure." Then a thought occured to her. "May I have a moment with Darkfire before we go, please?"

"Of course."

Hawkpaw awkwardly walked over to where Darkfire was showing the dogs around.

"Darkfire!" she called across the camp. The cat's radar ears picked up the sound.

He cocked his head, inviting question or comment.

"Sorry that this is interrupting." The girl suddenly got embarrassed. Darkfire nodded, pressing her onward, flicking away any annoyance he might have had. "May I speak to you in private?"

Darkfire thought for a moment, as if considering if this would take a while or not. He was staring at Hawkpaw closely, and the intensity of his studying her made the human nervous. Finally, the leader turned to the dogs.

"This will only take a moment."

The two companions trotted side by side a few paces away from the patiently waiting dogs.

"Yes?" he meowed.

"I-" She wasn't sure if she could say this now that she had her chance. Thinking of the way they had interpreted her first suggestion of not joining the Clan, she did not think they would be so forgiving now.

Darkfire sensed Hawkpaw's unease and comforted her.

"I swear on my life that I will not become angry with you, whatever it is you have to say."

The girl doubted that he would not have any bad unspoken thoughts, but she had to tell him now. She had gotten in too deep already.

"I was just thinking about our discussion when I first came to live with the Clan." She paused to take a breath before charging on. "I thought that—If it was alright with you, I mean I'll understand if you say no—maybe I could live with the Tribe for a few days, just to get a feeling of their lifestyle."

Hawkpaw held her breath as Darkfire was first angry, upset, confused, then relaxed, all in one moment.

"You can stay there as long as you'd like," the elderly cat sighed. "It is not my place to be telling you what to do. After all, you are not technically part of the Clan."

Darkfire purred in a vain attempt to cover up his disappointment, and Hawkpaw felt terrible for making her most beloved friend at the moment so sad. Darkfire seemed to see through her clever poker face because his mood seemed to lighten a little.

"Go on!" he urged, nudging her in the direction of the camp exit with his head. "Flameear is waiting."

Hawkpaw nodded and jogged over to the bright red cat and they went on their long journey to the Tribe's camp.

The travel was quiet, and this near silence was greeted with welcome thoughts that Hawkpaw had been troubling over for many days. What was she going to do? She wanted to live with both clans, but there was no possible way that could be done without possibly harming the wolves and the cats' opinion of her. She did not want to lose any friendships. Some were already too strong.

"It seems to me that you are distracted from our purpose," mewed Flameear as he brought her back to earth with a flick of his silky tail. Hawkpaw regarded with embarrasment that she had strayed from the trail they were taking.

"Sorry," she murmured.

"No need for that. I just want you to know that whatever it is that's troubling you, feel free to be open about it."

Hawkpaw held her friend's warm, soothing gaze for a moment, deciding whether to tell him. She decided against this, knowing that he was one of the friends who would most be missed.

She shook her head, "Thank you, Flameear, but really, it's nothing."

The blazing tom studied Hawkpaw for a moment, obviously not convinced. He turned abruptly back to the forest ahead with a long sigh that would let out all his frustrated feelings. Relieved but sorry that he did not push her onward, the girl followed, just pawsteps behind, careful not to find herself too deep in her thoughts.

Finally, well after sunhigh, the companions arrived with weary paws at their destination. Before entering the Tribe's camp, Hawkpaw stared around in awe at the archway the trees formed, marking the tunnel that led to the dustly clearing. Peering in, wolves were seen padding about on business one could only guess. The Tribe scent was overwhelming here, and curiosity urged Hawkpaw to move her frozen limbs through the tunnel.

Though Hawkpaw still was not completely with the whole picture, she was not too out of it to see that their coming was not graciously welcomed. The human pulled herself out of her daze and looked around at all the wolves that had stopped in their tracks to stare suspiciously at her. But when Hawkpaw looked more closely, the Tribe was staring past her, their eyes blazing into Flameear's pelt. Many eyes were narrowed, some sparkled with curiosity. Hawkpaw's own dark-brown eyes were as wide as the full moon, and she was unable to stop a fear scent from waving off her.

Flameear stood his ground, head and tail held high, not unrespectfully. All he did was blink his magnificent emerald eyes. "Where is your leader? I would like to tell him a message from Darkfire."

There were inautible murmurs among the wolves, but none went to get Blackmoon. Hawkpaw thought she might have fainted from the tention if it wasn't for Cloud and Snow, who emerged from the nursery to see what was going on.

"Hawpaw!" Snow yipped with delight. The girl smiled and laughed softly to herself as the pup bounded happily over to nuzzle her nose into Hawkpaw's arm. Cloud followed more slowly behind, but she had a similar expression.

"Greetings, Little One." The white wolf's eyes shone, but then she cocked her head, confused. "What brings you here?"

It was Flameear who spoke. "We have a message for Blackmoon," he meowed, padding over to sit beside Hawkpaw. He dipped his head in greeting.

"Would you like me to fetch him?" offered Snow. She dashed off without an answer, returning moments later with Silver and Blackmoon.

"Yes?" growled Silver politely. Blackmoon just narrowed his great orange-gold eyes at both intruders.

"May we speak with you?" Flameear paused. "Alone?"

Silver turned to Blackmoon.

"Yes," growled Blackmoon hesitantly, as if he thought they were going to jump him when they were out of sight. "Silver, come on. We'll go to my den."

The four creatures made their way to an obviously ancient structure of various trees. Silver explained that it had been made by the Indian chief long ago, and that was where all the leaders had lived since then. There was a glowing orange light inside cast by the sun through the dead leaves. It smelled of pine and cedar all around the enclosed greenery. The scents appealed to Hawkpaw, and she closed her eyes and drank them in happily, feeling the spirits of the Tribe's ancestors surge under her skin and into her veins. When she opened her eyes, the surroundings seemed oddly familiar.

Flameear dove right into the discussion without waiting for Blackmoon to say he was ready. The cat was obviously in a hurry to get back to Whitefire.

"Before you mumble a word," he began, shooting Blackmoon a silencing glance when he opened his mouth to begin the conversation. "Know that we do not come to gather information or warn you of anything. This message brings a proposition." Blackmoon nodded, urging the cat onward. Flameear explained what Hawkpaw had discovered in the forest, and Hawkpaw was about to ask her personal question when Flameear said something she did not hear Darkfire tell him to report.

"We were wondering if you could take care of them while we find out what is going on. Our Clan does not understand dogs as well as the Tribe would, considering you are cousins."

Hawkpaw stopped herself from meowing in protest, but she held off, hoping that Blackmoon, the sensitive Alpha, would not be insulted. To her relief, it was Silver who spoke after having an unspoken argument with her leader.

"We will think about it and let you know." She swished her tail, slightly annoyed at Blackmoon's apparent reluctance to even consider.

Flameear gave her a content nod, then beckoned Hawkpaw to follow him back to the Clan camp with a flick of his tail.

"Um, Flameear, I need to ask something of Blackmoon first."

The cat turned and cocked his head. "What? Is something wrong?"

"No, but... Uh..." Hawkpaw did not know what to say to her friend. She felt like she was betraying him. Instead, she turned to Blackmoon and Silver who were waiting for the question.

"Um..." Hawkpaw shuffled her naked, fingered forepaws awqwardly.

"Yes," Silver panted reassuringly.

"Darkfire and I have agreed that, well, what I mean is, I was thinking that I would like to see how Tribe life is, to see whether I prefer this life or the Clan's." She glanced from wolf to wolf, but both had unreadable expressions masking what they were thinking. "If it would be too much of a bother, I could leave." Hawkpaw stared hopefully into the eyes of a friend and then in the Alpha's, holding this gaze longest as this would determine her stay. She was glad that the wolf was actually considering this. She knew him to be short tempered and unjust, and that was quite intimidating for a human.

Finally, Flameear's shaky mew was heard. "You want to leave?" Hawkpaw felt a pang of guilt and sadness at her friend's tone pierce her heart like and icicle. "You don't like the Clan?" She couldn't bear to turn and see the sadness that was expressed in Flameear's voice, so she just stood rigid, head drooping sadly. Flameear seemed to have thought of something because he spoke again, and this time his voice shook with anger.

"If any cat has done something to you, I'll claw their ears off!" he hissed.

"No, no, it's not that!" Hawkpaw meowed. "Remember the conversation we had in the nursery when I first came to you?" Flameear nodded. "I thought about it, and I wanted to see how I felt in the Tribe. I thought that perhaps I would be more comfortable with the size, and I already have friends here. That's what I meant when I said I was not sure if I wanted to stay in the Clan." she turned back to the wolves and added, "And if I stayed with you, I wouldn't be making any decisions either, at least not yet. I just want to see if I am more accepted." Suddenly embarassed, the human looked down at her hands, dirty and callused yet placed neatly in front of her.

An uncomfortable silence followed. Hawkpaw looked up with a start when Silver growled something into Blackmoon's ear. He nodded approvingly to whatever the Beta had said, and he turned with cheerful eyes toward Hawkpaw, revealing how young he was.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he yipped. "Go find Cloud and get a bed together."

Hawkpaw's eyes flew open wide at the cheerful response. She expected this to be some sort of joke, just Blackmoon trying to trick her, but the wolf just sat there with his tounge lollying out and his gold-yellow eyes sparkling. Hawkpaw smiled with relief and laughed, thanking the leaders.

Before doing anything she would get caught up in, Hawkpaw said her good-byes to Flameear.

"Thank you for the wonderful time we spent together." She paused, wondering what to say to the upset cat. Then she added, "I expect I will be seeing you soon, if you come to the clearing. I still will spend a lot of time there. Tell the Clan I will miss them all, especially Whitefire and Darkfire."

Flameear flicked his ears in agreement, and both turned to leave when Hawkpaw remembered her training.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, calling the cat back. "Do be kind and tell Darkfire to meet me at the clearing at dawn. Please."

"Of course." Flameear pressed his nose affectionately into Hawkpaw's naked shoulder. Hawkpaw blinked her thanks before the two friends parted, not to see each other for a while.

It didn't take long for the girl to spot Cloud and Snow, the pup tugging playfully at her mother's ear by the nursery. Snow scented the human, and her ears pricked excitedly.

"Hawkpaw! Hawkpaw!" she yipped, bouncing all around the girl. Hawkpaw laughed. "You're still here."

"Yes," Hawkpaw replied when Cloud came to stand over her daughter. The companions exchanged a glance, and Hawkpaw senced that her friend had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

"Blackmoon and Silver decided that I could stay here for a while to see what Tribe life is like."

Cloud stepped forward. "I'll help you set up your nest. I think you should stay in the nursery with me for a while, just so the wolves get used to your being here."

Snow squealed with excitement. "Oh, this will be so much fun! You can play with Rain and Shadow and me!" The pup danced around, not paying attention to where she was going, until she nearly collided with the nursery wall. Giving herself a shake, Snow trotted gracefully in, showing Hawkpaw around, while Cloud went to collect moss for bedding.

_This is going to be a long stay_, Hawkpaw thought. Wind and her pups greeted her warmly. She was happy to be here, where everyone accepted her for who she was.

**A/N: This should be interesting. Will she truly be accepted? R and R! Thanks for reading. -Spiritwind**


	10. Chapter 9

**Yo, people. Sorry this took so long, but the chapter is pretty long to make up for that. I was busy. Anyhoo, enjoy! I'm warning you though, this chappie is pretty intense...**

_Disclaimer: This is an original story based off the Warriors books by Erin Hunter. WEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! ahem...sorry...spaz..ya_

Chapter 9

Darkfire blinked awake to find himself in the Clearing of the Great Tree. Cold moonlight spilled into the clearing, brighter than a moon could naturally shine. The leader knew he was dreaming, but when he looked around, he was alone.

"Hello?" he called into the night. There was no reply. "Hello-o?" he repeated. The old cat sighed and sat down on his haunches, waiting for something to happen. Finally, a white shape was seen emerging from the shadows on the WolfTribe side of the forest. The she-wolf looked around, confused.

"Greetings," Darkfire meowed. The wolf, startled, jumped, turning to look at the cat. It dipped its head in respect for the aged leader.

"Greetings."

Darkfire studied the wolf. She was pure white with a tinge of gray, lean, but Darkfire senced that she was recently gifted with a pup. Gathering this information, he could guess who this Tribe member was.

"Cloud, I can see you are afraid." The wolf blinked. "You shouldn't be. This is a dream sent from StarClan. They will send us a message sooner or later."

Cloud nodded. "I thought so, but I have never had one of these dreams, you see, I have only heard of them from Silver."

Darkfire flicked his ears in understanding. Just then, a brisk wind chilled the forest and the branches of the trees crashed together. Starlight flickered like fire onto the treestump in the center of the clearing, and the stars themselves seemed to glisten in a sparkling blur on the surface. Two figures appeared, one a dark gray cat, the other a gray, brown, and white wolf.

"Welcome, friends," meowed the cat.

"Boulderfoot?" Darkfire stared at the medicine cat in disbelief.

The tom dipped its head at the Leader.

"But..."

The wolf swished its tail to silence him.

"There is no time to explain now," it growled.

"Frostmoon..." Cloud's voice trailed off in awe as she stared at her former leader.

"We have a message from StarClan and the Ancestors," Boulderfoot meowed.

"The fire of the sun will fade."

"A black moon will rise."

"Only snow, fox, and hawk can save the forest."

"An unexpected leader will grow in our paws."

Darkfire was used to these types of messages, and he studied the StarClan warriors curiously through narrowed eyes. Cloud sighed, frustrated.

"Must you _always_ speak in riddles?"

Darkfire shook his head, amused by the wolf. The clearing began to fade.

"Wait! I have so many more questions! What does this all mean!" howled Cloud in dismay. She ran forward to the stump, only to fall into darkness that would end the dream. The Clearing of the Great Tree was filled with whispers.

"_The fire of the sun will fade. A black moon will rise."_

Now it was Darkfire's turn to be afraid. He was not waking up. He ran to the tree stump, yowling for help, but nothing happened. He ran as fast as he could towards camp, and still he did not wake up. The sun began to rise, and Darkfire realised he was already awake, and had been for a while. He padded softly to his den and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

☼☼☼☼☼

Cloud gasped, springing up onto all fours in her nest. She relaxed, glad to have escaped that peculiar dream. Shaking moss off her fur, Cloud left the nursery to get some fresh kill. Choosing a small squirrel, though this would not fill her up, she brought it back to the cave, where Snow was waiting for her. Glancing at her daughter, Cloud knew she thought something was wrong.

"Here, have this," she mumbled over the red fur of the prey. She dropped it in front of Snow.

The white pup nodded, but gave Cloud a look that said, "You can't fool me. I know something's up." But she accepted the squirrel and walked with it back into the nursery to share with Rain. Cloud sighed and went back to the fresh kill pile, choosing part of a deer to bring back to Wind. The two friends shared the meat, Cloud thinking that her daughter was too smart for her.

Chuckling at the thought, Cloud sat up and waited for Snow to approach her and ask her what was wrong. Sure enough, the pup scuffled with Rain for a moment, then she turned to Cloud and padded over to her.

"Mother, we have to talk."

Cloud struggled to smother a chuckle at her daughter's commanding tone.

"Yes, ma'am," she wuffed. Snow glared at her, trying to keep the mood urgent.

"Mom," she said when they were out of earshot of the others, "I have noticed you were a little sketchy this morning."

"Sketchy?" Cloud gasped, attempting to look innosent. "I don't know what you mean!"

Snow growled in annoyance. "Yes, you do."

Cloud sighed, surrendering to her pup. "Fine, there is something that's troubling me, but it was only a dream."

Snow was not convinced.

"Was it a prophecy?" she pressed.

Cloud paused, wondering if she should continue the conversation, then bowled on without giving the matter a second thought. "Yes, it was a prophesy." And, knowing that Snow would only ask more questions, she went on. "Frostmoon, the old alpha, came with the CatClan medicine cat. They fortold danger that would come to the forest, and only snow and fox could save us, or something like that."

Snow's expression looked troubled. "Maybe you should talk to Fallenleaf."

"Maybe," Cloud agreed, "but maybe we should also keep it quiet for a little and see what happens. Darkfire was there too, so perhaps he will talk to Blackmoon about it." Cloud took in a sharp breath, remembering the part of the prophesy that spoke of a black moon rising. Could that be her alpha? She shook her head, feeling guilty at the thought, but it clung to the farthest reaches of her brain, not letting her alone. She decided to talk to both Fallenleaf and Blackmoon together to figure things out. Maybe they had recieved similar dreams.

"Go back inside," Cloud ordered. "I'll take care of things."

The pure-white pup left obediantly. Cloud marveled at how clean her daughter's fur was, unspoiled by harsh winters or summers. With a sigh, Cloud left to find the healer and her alpha.

"Yes, fox and snow. Also, it said an unexpected leader would come to power, and that the fire of the sun would fade and a black moon would rise."

Cloud had just finished reciting the prophesy to Fallenleaf and Blackmoon, who's expressions were quite different. Fallenleaf was nodding thoughtfully with her eyes closed, as Blackmoon glared down at the dirt in front of him, eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable. Cloud's curiosity returned full strenth.

"We could discuss this with Darkfire," suggested Fallenleaf. Cloud agreed, but Blackmoon's gaze shot up in surprise and fright.

"No!" Then realizing how suspicious this looked, he added, "It would be best not to worry the Clan. We should keep this just to ourselves."

Not wanting to disagree with their alpha, the two she-wolves nodded, but slowly, as they were now suspicious of Blackmoon's sudded panic. Eyes darting around, the black wolf in question awkwardly dismissed his Tribe-mates, his face troubled.

Cloud did not have anything to say to Fallenleaf, and the healer had nothing she could think of to say to Cloud, so the white she-wolf said good-bye with a twitch of her ears, and headed toward the nursery. Unexpectedly weary, Cloud curled up in her nest and went into an uneasy, yet undisturbed, sleep.

Fallenleaf strode out of her den toward Cloud. The wolf mother was choosing fresh-kill from the pile. She was looking rather healthy after giving birth less than a moon ago. Checking to see that no one was following her, the healer trotted gracefully over to her Tribe-mate.

"Hello."

Cloud looked up and grinned at the sight of her friend. "Hi."

Fallenleaf returned the smile, but once again checked that no one was around before growling softly to Cloud, "I think I know what the black moon from the prophecy is."

Cloud's eyes flew wide. "I know what you mean. You suspect a certain _black moon_ that we know, right."

"Yes. I feel a bit guilty though. It's treason to call your alpha a traitor."

"I feel exactly the same way."

Fallenleaf was releaved to know that she was not alone. It would make her terrified if she told Cloud and she went straight to Blackmoon.

"What should we do?" Cloud asked, suddenly nervous. She was looking at something behind the healer. Fallenleaf turned and started when she saw Blackmoon only tail lenghths away, emerging from his den.

"I think we should leave it, unless he approaches us." The healer turned to leave when Cloud called her back.

"Please, I don't want to be alone." Fallenleaf could see faint coloring behind the she-wolf's short face fur. "I am afraid. If Blackmoon is in fact a traitor, he will not want us to know. He is not a fool. He knows we suspect him."

Fallenleaf agreed to stay with Cloud, surprized at her own sudden fear. The two were heading toward the nursery when Blackmoon dashed in front of them.

"Can I talk to you two?"

The she-wolves exchanged a nervous glance, but they were glad he had not caught one of them by themselves.

"Yes."

Fallenleaf expected Blackmoon to lead them to his den, but instead he looked around to check if anyone was looking before vanishing into the undergrowth at the border of the camp.

"We follow?" Cloud called after him. There was no responce.

"If he tries to lead us out of earshot of the camp, refuse to go any futher," Fallenleaf growled as the wolves followed their alpha. At this, Cloud paused, looking back at the nursery. Snow was standing at the entrance with Shadow, and the mother flicked her ears in farwell, as if she felt she may not return alive.

"It'll be okay," Fallenleaf reassured her, pressing her brown and black flank against her friend's white one. They promplty followed Blackmoon without looking back.

The alpha was going too far. He was leading them deep into the territory, into a place where only dence pines grew. Not forgetting what she told Cloud to do, Fallenleaf stopped and called to Blackmoon.

"We are too far away. We can talk quietly here. No one will hear us."

"I think we should go farther," Blackmoon growled, a hint of aggressiveness entering his tone.

"No, I will go no farther." Cloud came to stand beside Fallenleaf, her voice stern as if telling a pup not to wander off into unknown territory.

Reluctantly, Blackmoon gave in, his eyes filled with worry for a moment, then all emotion disappeared from his features.

"What is it you wanted to say?" asked Cloud when Blackmoon hesitated, as if wondering what to do next.

Regaining his confidence, the alpha looked straight at the white warrior, an intensity blazing in his eyes also as his gaze slipped to meet Fallenleaf's.

"You know what the prophecy means," he began. "You know what the black moon is. You know it is me." The she-wolves were stunned. Seeing the surprize on the wolfs' faces, Blackmoon continued with a sneer. "You should also know that the fire of the sun in Darkfire. I plan to kill him, so that I may rule the forest!"

"You can't!" Fallenleaf blurted out. "Whitefire will take over, and once the kits are found, one of them will."

Blackmoon snickered, a sticky sound that made the other wolfs' blood run cold.

"Ah, that would be true," the black wolf said, "If the kits were not in my posession, and Whitefire would not be so easily taken care of." A sly smile parted his lips.

"NO!" howled Cloud in dismay. Fallenleaf could see she was only moments from leaping at Blackmoon's neck.

"I'd keep my voice down if I were you." Blackmoon's neck fur bristled and his hackles rose. "Though that wouldn't change your fate anyway. I can't have wolves of my Tribe knowing my secret."

Without warning, Blackmoon leapt onto Cloud's back, biting her shoulder. She let out a howl of fury that was reaflected in Fallenleaf's own voice. The healer's fighting skills were not as advanced as a warrior's, but she knew the basics. She hurled herself at Blackmoon's side, knocking him off Cloud's back. The alpha clumsily got to his feet, lunging himself at Fallenleaf. The healer's breath caught in her throat in surprize, and she did not regain feeling in her legs until Blackmoon had already tackled her to the forest floor, covered in pine needles.

Cloud, who was bleeding heavily from her left shoulder, howled as loud as she could, partly in fury, partly a cry for help. She snatched the back of Blackmoon's neck and hauled him off, only to be brought down by her alpha's immense strenth. He wrestled her to the ground and got a hold her her neck, just as Silver appeared from the mask of green pines, a stream of warriors following her. By the time Blackmoon let go of Cloud, he was tackled by Silver and surrounded by the rest of the warriors. Fallenleaf, not waiting to see what happened to her alpha, went to check on Cloud.

The white warrior's ruff was dyed red with her own blood, a pool of the thick liquid forming on the forest floor. Her eyes were closed, but Fallenleaf could see a very faint rise and fall at her chest. She was still alive, but barely.

"Someone get me some cobwebs!" she barked.

Silver, alarmed at the healer's urgent tone, had a different wolf hold down Blackmoon while Cedar went to find cobwebs. The beta padded over to Cloud, who had opened her eyes, the bright gold hue to them dulled.

"Silver," Cloud rasped. "Silver, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."

Silver, tears gleaming in her orange eyes, managed to choke out, "Don't. Save your breath."

"I'm going to die," Cloud gasped.

"No, you're not."

"_Yes_, I am, and I want to say a few things before I do." Silver let the tears flow as she realized that there was no hope in saving her best friend. "I want you to take Snow in for me, with Cedar as her father." The amber wolf had returned with a wad of cobweb and was standing beside Silver. They both nodded. "Fallenleaf will tell you of the prophecy. You are going to be the best alpha the Tribe has ever seen." Cloud took in a sharp breath as Fallenleaf pressed cobwebs onto the gash in her neck, though she knew the white warrior was already leaving them.

"Tell Hawkpaw I'll miss her, and tell Snow that I'm sorry, and I will always love her." Cloud let out the rest of that breath, closed her eyes, and she was gone.

Three wolves, a silver-gray one, an amber one, and a black and brown one stood sobbing at their lost friend's side. Silver, remembering the one who did this, swerved around and seized Blackmoon by the ruff, tossing him onto the needle-covered floor with a thud. She pinned him down with the grief and fury that powered her muscles, and she bared her teeth in his face, snarling.

"Why?" was the only thing she said.

"I'm sure Fallenleaf can explain it to you."

"No!" Silver barked furiously. "I want to hear it from the murderer's lips!"

Blackmoon explained everything in a snicker that only angered Silver more.

"So you killed Streak and Storm."

"Yes," Blackmoon growled, never loosing his pride. In fact, it seemed like he gained confidence the more trouble he got in.

"Where are the kits?" snapped Cedar. He had lost his patience with the traitor.

Blackmoon snickered.

"WHERE ARE THEY!" Silver howled, tearing his ear.

Blackmoon flinched and growled, but made no effort to escape. "They're in our territory, wandering around an abandoned fox den."

Silver lost it, and made to tear out his throat.

"No, Silver!" Fallenleaf knocked her new Alpha off Blackmoon, though she did not know why.

"Mouse brain!" Silver barked at the healer. "I could've ended the whole thing right there!"

"I know," murmured Fallenleaf. "But we can't until the prophecy is fulfilled."

Blackmoon dashed away, his bushy tail disappearing into the underbrush. The Tribe hoped that would be the last they ever saw of him.

**A/N: WAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!:( Cloud died. NOO!!!!!! Sorry it took so long to get to the kits, but I have the whole story planned out in my head, and hopefully it won't take long to write now that everything I was working on is over. R and R. YAY! Time to write! HAHA! -Spiritwind**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hi! Sorry that this chappie is so short, and sorry that the last one was so depressing. I don't really have that much to say, so enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: This is an original story based off the Warriors books by Erin Hunter. Sweeeet..._

Chapter 10

Snow had not been able to cry when she watched the burial of her mother, Cloud. She had not been able to cry when she realized she was an orphan. Knowing that her "aunt" Silver was going to take her in did not even give Snow a flicker of hope, hope that she would somehow be happy again. The white pup padded slowly into the nursery, where Wind sat with Rain huddled close to her belly, but neither of them bothered Snow with comfort. They knew nothing they could say would calm the she-pup's aching heart.

All Snow wanted to do was curl up in her bed and go to sleep, but when she set foot in the nest, Cloud's scent drifted up to her, mingling with the pup's own scent. The memory of her lost mother scared Snow away, driving weariness from her eyes. Instead, Snow turned to leave, and she saw Shadow and Fallenleaf in the entrance. Snow bit her lip, trying not to cry, but as she ran to nestle her muzzle into the healer's fur, the tears flowed from her eyes like a broken dam. She shook uncontrolably, trying to find a way out of her misery, but she was unable to escape the loss. There was nothing she could do. Snow longed to feel the rasp of her mother's comforting tongue on her cheek, but she nearly keeled over when she realized she would never feel that comforting gesture ever again.

Fallenleaf stood for a moment, wondering what to do, though she was also in tears. Snow felt the healer shift, stiffen, then bend her neck to lick the pup comfortingly between the ears.

Shadow knew how it felt to lose a loved one, but all he could do was press his nose into Snow's fur, letting her know that he was there for her.

Silver stood a little off to the side. Snow had not noticed her adoptive mother, who was watching the group with sadness glazing her usually shining eyes. The she-wolf noticed how bright Snow looked, her white coat standing out against the dark coats of her friends. It was like a single star shining between dark clouds, a single hope for light and happiness.

A familiar scent drifted over Silver, and she turned to look at Cedar, sad, surprised, and relieved to see that his expression mirrored hers. Their fur brushed as the she-wolf's mate murmured into her ear, "It'll be okay. Snow will accept us after she knows that we feel the same way, or at least similarly, to how she does. Right now, though, she needs to be with the ones who are closest to her, not to Cloud."

Silver's nose twitched in agreement, but she still looked on with longing at the nuzzling group. She wished Snow would confide in her as she did in Shadow and Fallenleaf, and as she had Cloud. Feeling a slight, guilty envy for her dead friend, Silver wished that the Ancestors would allow her to have pups of her own. If her adoptive pup would not trust her, what was the point? She wanted to have a motherly connection with her offspring.

"Come on. Do you want to get some fresh kill?" suggested Cedar, concern filling his eyes. Silver looked at him gratefully.

"No, thanks. I'm just tired. Let's go to bed." She was about to go back to the warriors den when she realized she was now Alpha. She did not want to sleep in Blackmoon's old den yet, but she did think that Snow could use some company in the nursery. She and Cedar padded silently around Fallenleaf, Shadow, and Snow and slipped into the den.

Silver would have slept in Cloud's nest if it wasn't for the thought that Snow might think she was trying to take her mother's place. Instead, Wind had Rain get her some new moss, and she settled down in the fresh nest made right next to Cloud's. Cedar stayed with her, curled up on the dirt floor by her side.

"You can sleep here if you'd like," the she-wolf offered.

"No, thanks. There needs to be enough room for Snow."

Silver nodded, then turned to face him, pressing her nose into her mate's fur to breath in his comforting scent. She finally drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

When Silver woke to a small warm body pressed against her belly, she was both depressed and thrilled. Snow finally trusted her, and it was clear that she loved her, as she did not go to Fallenleaf's den to sleep. Looking outside, Silver noticed it was still late into the night, and there were many hours yet to sleep. Drifting off again, the she-wolf was surprised to find herself standing in the middle of a forest.

"_Hello?" Silver called into the dark shadows of the looming trees. They were all pines, like the place where Cloud had died..._

"_Hello?" she called again, now more desperate at remembering that Blackmoon was still on the loose here. Finally, she was answered by a hauntingly familiar scent._

"_It's alright, Silver. There is no need to be afraid. You are only dreaming."_

_Silver did not relax at the welcome voice, but instead had to clench her teeth to stop herself from crying._

"_Cloud..." she whined. "Why am I here? Where are you?" she asked, looking around the dark trees._

"_You are the Alpha now, and all of the Ancestors trust you to take on this task."_

"_Oh." Silver did not know what else to say. She was lost for words._

"_I know how much you wanted to have pups of your own."_

_Silver nodded, unable to speak._

"_The Ancestors know this too."_

_Silver was stunned to such a stillness that humans would have thought her a statue. "Oh," she managed to creak out again._

_Cloud laughed, the raspy soud echoing around the trees. "It's okay. They agreed, with my insistance, that you can have pups of your own."_

_The silver she-wolf nearly jumped for joy, yelping her glee to the empty forest._

"_However," Cloud growled, emphacising the word to get her friend's attention, "If you do have a litter of your own, you must swear that the Tribe will come first, that if there is a choice between the Tribe's safety and your pups' safety, you will choose the Tribe."_

"_I so swear," Silver sighed reluctantly, knowing what that would mean._

"_I'm sorry, I tried to get them to leave that part out of the deal," Cloud added, a bit guiltfully._

"_That's alright, I know you did."_

"_Oh, Silver, I want you to tell Snow something." Cloud's voice was beginning to fade._

"_Yes, anything."_

"_Tell her that I will always be with her, and that I will visit her sometime in the future."_

"_Okay."_

"_I'll miss you."_

"_Wait, you'll talk to me some other time, right?" Silver whined, sad at the thought of never seeing her friend again._

_Cloud hesitated. "I'm not sure."_

The forest faded and Silver closed her eyes with grief and felt a single tear run down her furry cheek as she waited to wake.

**:( tear tear! so sad! I'll try to get the next capter out as soon as i can, but i had written all of these ahead of time, so i don't know how quickly i can get this out. sorry! R and R! -Spiritwind**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hi! Sorry this took so long. Anyway, thank you Moonflower0Aquastar and MarlinsFanForever for reviewing. I appreciate it. By the way, other peeps, you should check out their stories. They rule! Enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: I own the second series of Warriors, and I wish I owned the first. This is an original story based off the books by Erin Hunter._

Chapter 11

"Whitefire! Whitefire, come quickly!" Darkfire yowled as he tumbled through the entrance to the CatClan camp. He had just returned to a meeting with Silver and Cedar, the new Alpha and Betas of WolfTribe.

"Darkfire, what is it? Is something wrong?" Whitefire's head poked out from the nursery, and Flameear's curious nose was soon to follow. A bunch of the other cats that had been wandering about the clearing stopped to watch their leader deliver his news to his sister with pricked ears.

"Whitefire, Flameear, come with me. You won't believe this!"

Before either cat could say a word, Darkfire had bounded back across the camp to the gorse entrance, pausing only for the mates to catch up. They dashed through the dense underbrush until a strong scent of clan cats drifted toward them.

"Beechheart, we're back!" called Darkfire. The cat he had called, an off-white tom with saphire eyes, emerged from behind a fern, dipped his head in greeting, then twitched his ears for a couple other cats to follow him, all of these she-cats.

"Nettlefur, Juniperclaw, Hollywhisker, come on! Darkfire's back."

Muffled mewing came from behind the ferns, then three different colored noses and plump bodies appeared, followed by four other, small pink ones.

"My kits!" Whitefire meowed, rushing toward the four kits and nuzzling them so hard that they squealed. "Why didn't you call for me when that awful kit-napper was taking you? I could have come and helped!"

"Sorry mother, but he told us that if we so much as peeped he would kill us," mewed Silverkit.

"Who took you guys anyway?" asked Whitefire, looking up at her brother.

"Blackmoon," he meowed. "But Silver found him and he was banished. She told us where they were, and some of their warriors helped us scout them out."

"Mommy, I want to go home!" mewed Rainbowkit nervously, as if she thought Blackmoon was hiding somewhere and would jump out at them.

"Me too!" Sunkit and Silverkit agreed. Foxkit stayed silent.

"Yes, we're going home. Come along!" Whitefire led them back toward the camp with the rest of the group close behind.

"Blackmoon has been banished, so Silver has now gained the position of Alpha and will be known as Silvermoon. The new Beta is Cedar."

The Clan was shocked at the casualty with which their Leader spoke of Blackmoon's treachery, though they knew he was still a bit giddy, if such were the right word, at having his neices and nephews back.

"Let us have a moment of silence in remembering Cloud, the couragious hero of the battle with her trecherous Alpha."

The cats bowed their head in mourning. All of them, from kit to elder, had met Cloud and respected her to an extent anyone would hope for. They would not stay vigil, of course, since she had not been part of their Clan. Darkfire recaptured them to the meeting with a commanding, yet respectful, meow.

"Sivlermoon informed us that the dogs," he gestured to the group of canines at the back of the crowd, "would be very welcome to live with the Tribe, if they are more comfortable there." The collie, Tess, nodded, and the others followed her example. Darkfire twitched his whiskers and continued, "I now must finish that sentance I was terribly interupted in one and three quarters of a moon ago." All the cats held their breath, hoping their privately favored kit would become heir. "I decided a long time ago who I thought would do well as your Leader once I have passed, and that kit is Silverkit."

A roar of approval blasted from the gathered Clan, and all turned to look at Silverkit, who was standing near the front of the crowd. At first he colored slightly and looked at his paws in embarrassment, but then recovered himself into the kit Darkfire had chosen to be heir. He set his jaw, lifted his chin, and padded dutifully over to his uncle with his tail strait up. He shook with anticipation as Darkfire lowered his head to lick Silverkit between the ears and fixed him with an amber gaze.

"Silver, do you accept the duty of heir and, soon after, Leader? You will have to start training early in your condition, and in the future you will have to put your life on the line to defend your Clan. Do you promise to uphold to this?"

As Silverkit looked into his uncle's soft eyes, he noticed how old he looked. It was only now that the kit realised how much of a load it would be to become Leader. Even so, with the almost non existant dread lingering in the back of his mind, Silverkit knew that he would do anything to live up to his uncle's reputation and to defend the Clan. Bringing in a deap breath he stated his dicision.

"I do," Silverkit meowed dutifully.

"Then from this day forward, you will be known as Silverpaw. I have no doubt that you will serve your Clan well with your leadership, brains, and strength. I am honored to be your mentor, and look forward to working with you for the moons that I am still alive." Darkfire placed his head on Silverpaw's, and the apprentice licked his elderly Leader on the shoulder in responce.

The cats turned back to the Clan as the group chanted, "Silverpaw! Silverpaw!" over and over. One by one, Silverpaw's clanmates approached him and congradulated him, and among the first were Sunkit and Rainbowkit. Foxkit, being still smaller than normal, was pushed and shoved around between the other cats struggling to get to the new apprentice. By the time he was able to push through, Silverpaw had gone off with his sisters to chat by the nursery. Foxkit padded shyly over to his siblings to join in.

"It must be so exciting, becoming the heir," mewed Rainbowkit in awe. "Plus, you get to start your training early. I'm so jealous."

"Well," Silverpaw meowed seriously, trying to act mature, yet Foxkit caught the kit-like twinkle in his eyes that he knew so well as his brother's amusement, "Being leader and heir is not a piece of fresh kill. It is a big responsibility because the whole Clan depends on you."

Sunkit twitched her whiskers, "Hey, the medicine cat helps a lot! They get all the prophecies and heal all the cats!"

The siblings flicked their ears in ammusement, as they all knew their sister truly wanted to be a medicine cat.

"I know," Silverkit mewed.

"Hey, wouldn't it be cool if Sunkit grew up to be the medicine cat while Silverpaw was leader? Our family would practically rule the Clan!"

"And maybe you could be heir." Silverpaw blinked and Rainbowkit stared at him in astonishment.

"You mean it? You will make me heir?"

"I don't know any better cat."

"Really?" Rainbowkit's eyes were so wide and sparkling Foxkit thought they would burst with gratitude.

"It's a promise."

"Oh, Silverpaw, thank you! You're the best brother ever!" Rainbowkit meowed, leaping in excitement onto her brother and knocking him over with sisterly licks.

"Hey, get off! Get off me, Rainbowkit!" Silverpaw _mrrr-ow_ed with mock annoyance. Foxkit jumped on top of the other kits, and Sunkit was quick to follow. They were tussling around when Dirtpelt, the one who had gone to the WolfTribe camp soon after the battle, padded over hurriedly, a mixture of emotions on his face. His muscles rippled with ease under his shimmering coat, and his still young face was creaced with worry.

"I need a medicine cat," he meowed. His eyes immediately flitted toward Sunkit, who lowered her eyes in modesty. "Sunkit, you worked a little with Boulderfoot, didn't you?"

"Yes," she mewed, looking back up to face Dirtpelt. "It depends on what you need me to do."

"Hollywhisker is having her kits. Now."

"Well, congradulations." Sunkit dipped her head, remembering her manners despite her honor in being acknowledged as a medicine cat. She knew that Dirtpelt was Hollywhisker's mate.

"She's having difficulty, though." Dirtpelt's face was troubled and his tone pleading. "I don't know what's wrong with her, and no one else has any idea of what to do."

Sunkit looked over the young warrior in surprise. He was still young enough that he did not want to admit that he could not take care of things by himself, but he had openly stated that he was in trouble. Taking this as a compliment, Sunkit blinked in gratitude and sympathy. "I'll do my best."

Dirtpelt whisked around and led Sunkit, with her siblings following her, to where Hollywhisker lay on the dusty ground. She was groaning in pain and a wall of cats surrounded her, blocking Sunkit's way.

"'Scuse me," she mewed respectfully, but no one noticed her. "Pardon, but could I get past?" Still no reaction. "Move! Out of the way!" she finally yowled, startling the cats, who had never seen her annoyed before. They jumped out of the way, not wanting to know what wrath she could let out if she got provoked anymore. "Thank you," she sighed, not waisting time and padded quickly up to the she-cat giving birth. Sunkit was dismayed to see her pretty auburn and brown speckled clan mate in such agony.

"It hurts, Sunkit! Can you help?" Hollywhisker was cringing in pain, but she held eye contact with the kit, pleading her heart out through her half-closed yellow eyes.

"I'll try," she murmured, suddenly scared realizing that the burden of this cat's life was on her. "Where does it hurt?"

"My belly."

"Hmmm…" Sunkit had no idea what to do. Her belly hurting was a given if she was giving birth. Thinking fast, she turned to Foxkit and twitched her whiskers nervously. "Foxkit, go fetch me some poppy seeds and juniper berries. Hurry!" she yowled after him as he disappeared into the medicine cat den. "It'll be okay," she mewed when she turned back to Hollywhisker, who closed her eyes and was breathing in quick, shallow gasps.

Foxkit returned moments later with a leaf wrapped around a few poppy seeds and juniper berries. He placed them gently in front of his sister and waited by her side in case he was needed more.

"Thanks. Hollywhisker, I need you to eat these," she meowed, pushing the leaf toward the she-cat. She groaned. "Please, it will make the pain go away."

At that, Hollywhisker's eyes opened a crack and she gobbled up the herbs, laying her head back down afterwards.

"Good," Sunkit mewed reassuringly. She turned to the cat's swollen stomach and felt around to see what was going wrong. The she-cat groaned again. "Now, weird as this sounds, I'm going to have to reach inside and turn this kit around. It's stuck."

"What? How did that happen?"

"It just happens sometimes, I guess. I'm sorry, but I don't know really."

"That's okay. You're doing great for someone who is not an official medicine cat."

"Thanks," mewed Sunkit, taken aback by the certainty in the she-cat's voice. It seemed like she was cerain that the golden kit would become the medicine cat.

Abandoning all kit-like thoughts and daydreams and adult-like worries, Sunkit focused on finding the not-yet-born kit. She felt kind of uncomfortable with all eyes on her, but she shook her head to clear it. Her face lit up when she skimmed a tiny body, not that far in. With a triumfant grunt, she turned what she thought was the kit's face toward the opening and took her now wet paw out with a sigh of relief.

"I got it," she meowed, glowing with pride despite her attempts to stay neutral.

"Yeah, I felt it," Hollywhisker growled, but she had a hint of amusement in her voice.

A few moments later, the kit itself appeared, and, soon after, two others followed. The new mother licked her kits clean affectionately, nuzzling the mewling scraps of fur with her muzzle.

Sunkit looked on with pride and sighed at the beautiful sight. It was only then that she remembered the crowd around them and her sticky paw. Her face flushed pink and she coughed, embarrassed, excusing herself to the nearest stream to wash off.

Foxkit purred in amusement at his siter's embarrassment and turned back to the kits and their mother after she had left the camp. He saw a faint flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye and he looked up to his left to see a few wolves had come to escort the dogs to their camp. He trotted over to say good-bye to a couple of them who he had aquaintanced. There was one pup among the wolves, a pure white she-wolf. Her eyes were dulled with such a sadness that Foxkit could only guess that she was Cloud's daughter. As he was looking her over, the pup glanced at him and they locked eyes. The power of the gaze sent chills down the kit's spine and made the fur on the back of his neck bristle slightly. When the moment was broken, he knew that she was going to change his life, and he hers.

**Oooo! Hint of foreshadow…. Well, stay tuned for the next chapter of Winter Moon! Sorry, I'm in radiow show mode. See you next time. R and R! You guys really need to! Moonflower and MarlinsFanForever/Moonstar are the only ones who have reviewed! GRRR!!!! I need to know what you people think! –Spiritwind P.S. Moonstar, if you say anything about me growling stuff at people, I'll claw you.:)**

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	13. Chapter 12

**Hi. Sorry this took a little long, but I started writing like mad after I finished the last chapter. Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed. Also, thanks especially to Moonflower0Aquastar for some names. Enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: sorry about the past disclaimers, I had no idea what I was talking about. I do not own warriors, but I own all the characters in this story, and if you steal them I will claw you. Thanks for reading! I LOVE YOU!!!!! O, and by the way, this is an original story based off the Warriors books by Erin Hunter._

Chapter 12

Four moons later, Foxkit, Rainbowkit, and Sunkit were getting their apprentice ceremonies. Whitefire was grooming them so their coats shone with a natural healthy glow. Though the kits complained at their mother's worrying, they were not too calm themselves. All three laughed lightly at anything that happened to them, and Foxkit felt like he was going to throw up when his uncle called them to stand by his side in front of the whole Clan. He wanted to bolt into the nursery and disappear under a layer of moss, never to be seen until the gathering was over. But, taking in a deep breath, he skipped conciously up to Darkfire's side.

"I'll start with the eldest of the three," he mewed. "Sunkit, you have grown much these past moons, and have proved that you are ready to become a medicine cat apprentice. Do you promise to train hard and well until you become the medicine cat yourself?"

"I do," Sunkit meowed, her voice confident, but she was shaking with anticipation.

"Then from now on, Sunkit, you will be known as Sunpaw. I know you will learn well under the guidance of Vinewind, who knows the most of medicine cat ways."

Foxkit recalled how Vinewind, who had been recently made warrior and was on patrol when Hollywhisker had her kits, returned and was named the medicine cat after healing a nasty wound in a tom named Ashwood's shoulder. He knew that Sunkit had been slightly annoyed that he got more honor from healing a cut rather than her saving a kit and a queen's lives, but she never mentioned it. She was good at keeping her temper and feeling happy for others' successes.

Rainbowkit, now Rainbowpaw, was prancing up to meet Beechheart, her new mentor.

Foxkit did not remember much of his ceremony, as he was in a slight daze of happiness. He knew that his parents were worried that he would not survive as a kit because he was so small, and he still was a little puny for his age. All he remembered was saying "I do" and touching noses with Dirtpelt, who would be his mentor. He only came back to earth when Flowerkit, one of Hollywhisker's kits, came up to congradulate him. She was only one and three quarters of a moon younger than him, and he had an itching feeling that he was developing a crush on her.

"Hi," she meowed, her eyes shining with admiration. "Congrats!"

"Yeah, thanks," he mewed, coloring slightly and shuffling his paws.

"Stupid furball!" she teased, cuffing him lightly over the ear with sheathed claws. "Come on, let's get some fresh kill. I'm starving."

Foxpaw purred and padded after his friend. He chose a slightly thin mouse while she picked out a vole. As she complained about the hunting and the size of the animals during leaf fall, the top of the apprentice's white-tipped ginger tail twitched in ammusement.

Flowerkit turned her perfecly shaped tortoiseshell head toward him and finally took a breath after her rambling. "Sorry, am I talking too much?"

Foxpaw purred, licking away any scraps of mouse from his muzzle. "No, it's fine, I like listening to the sound of your voice." He let a hint of affection enter his mocking tone.

"Hey," the little she-cat growled. "Shut up."

"Why?" he meowed in amusement. "Don't you like the melodius sound of my voice?"

Flowerkit leapt at him, batting him with soft kit paws and knocking him over. They played in the dirt for a moment, as if they were back in the nursery again. Little did Foxpaw know, these kit-like times would be limited for him, even in his young life, for the prophecy was beginning to unravel.

☼☼☼☼☼

Snow had just been given a mentor, a she-wolf named Feather. She was a nice wolf, but Snow was not so happy. She had been vainly hoping that either Silvermoon, Cedar, or Wind would be her mentor, but she decided to forget about it because it would never happen.

Silvermoon and Cedar had had a litter of pups. There were four in all, three males and one she-wolf. Her name was Rose, and she took after Cedar, but was a little lighter and had yellow eyes. The boys were Stream, silver with gray eyes, Bark, brown with golden eyes, and Flight, a mixture of amber and silver and had such dark brown eyes that they seemed to be black from a little ways away. Snow had felt a bond to Rose since before she could remember, a bond she thought must have happened since the slightly younger pup was born. Maybe it was the fact that they both wanted to be male. Maybe it was because they were the only she-wolves of their litter, even if Snow did not get the chance to have siblings. Whatever it was, their bond was strong, as if they had been blood sisters.

Snow also felt a bond with Hawkpaw. It was more now than just being drawn to her. Whenever they were together, or even apart, the white pup could feel the sparks of their friendship growing hotter. She was glad that now she could go training with the human rather than be left behind to wish that she could be a warrior.

Snow had kept up the lie of her not being able to have pups, with Silver, Rose, and Hawkpaw's help. She had nearly slipped the day she was going to be apprenticed when Granite, a smokey colored wolf, had asked her if she was going to be alright as a full warrior. She got so insulted at being worried about that she almost howled, "Just because I can have pups doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to fight!" Before she could say anything though, Silver, with Rose and Hawkpaw behind, ran up beside her and explained, in hurried tones, that she could no have pups. Convinced but confused, Granite had let the matter drop.

There was going to be a gathering tonight at the Clearing of the Great Tree. She was expecting to go since she had recently been apprenticed, and when her name was called she was not surprised. Hawkpaw was going too, so she was happy to be attending her first gathering with her best friend. Rose, unfortunately not being apprenticed yet, could not come. Giving her adoptive sister a quick rasp over the ear, Snow jogged up to Hawkpaw to excite over their first gatherings.

٭٭٭

"Hey, look over there, Snow! It's Whitefire's kits! They were apprenticed yesterday."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Come on, let's go meet them!" Hawkpaw was excited to see the cats again, and she wanted to meet Whitefire's kits. She knew their names, as her she-cat friend had described them to her so vividly in her time living with CatClan. Foxkit—Foxpaw, she corrected herself—was sitting closest to where she and Snow were standing. Going over to greet him, Hawkpaw felt a sudden strange feeling when she looked at the kit. Shaking it off, the girl introduced herself and her wolf friend. Foxpaw said he had been told about Hawkpaw and had met Snow before, but a long time ago. Snow, seeming to suddenly remember the kit, said she knew who he was. They sat and talked for a while, even when the other kits left. They all found some connection deep within them that made them all interestingly nervous.

Hawkpaw had grown used to her now black nose. It was always wet and cold, especially with the coming chills of leaf bare. There were two other additions to the weird occurances with her body. She had a small stump where her tail bone was, which had before been just some bump that was easily overlooked. Now it was over an inch long and could be moved around. It made things uncomfortable for Hawkpaw when she stood up, so she now only walked on all fours, unless she was climbing trees. The other change was her body hair. It was getting longer, darker, and thicker all the time. Her leg hair was a couple inches long, and her arm hair was catching up. On the other hand, her head hair had virtually stopped growing all together. She was a bit confused at first, but then decided the whole thing must have had to do with Darkfire saying that her transformation had begun when she was apprenticed.

Hawkpaw's clothes had become so ragged that she just tore them off and deposeted the articles into her nest to be used as bedding. She was cold a lot of the time, but the rags would not have made much of a difference. Besides, none of the animals minded a stark naked girl around; it made no difference whether she had that attempt of fur or not.

Looking at the other two apprentices, Hawkpaw remembered something. "Before I came here I think I got a prophecy."

Snow and Foxpaw looked at her, incredulous looks on their faces. "What?" they gasped in unison.

"Yes, I was not so sure of it before, but now I know it must have been. Foxpaw, the Clan was told of the prophecy Darkfire received?"

The ginger kit nodded, still wide eyed with disbelief.

"Good. Well, no one really told either tribe-"

"Or clan," Foxpaw corrected.

"Sorry, tribe or clan what the athourity's thoughts were on this. I think that the snow and the fox in it are you guys, but I might be wrong."

There was a long pause, during which the gathering started.

"Why would we have anything to do with a prophecy?" Snow finally growled under her breath. "I, at least, am nothing special in the Tribe, and even though Foxpaw is related to the Leader and heir, he will not become a leader in anything. Excuse me," she added quickly to the tom, but he flicked his ears dismissively.

"I agree," he mewed. "What was your prophecy anyway?"

"Yes, the prophecy was with me sleeping on the Stump of the Great Tree. It was a full moon, but there was no gathering. A white pup and a ginger tom with a white-tipped tail approached me. They beckoned for me to follow, and I did. The pup and kit looked a lot like you guys. That's why I think you are part of the prophecy. Maybe you will even defeat Blackmoon!"

Hawkpaw's voice had been rising as she talked, and one of the cats near them hissed. "Shhh! Pay attention," they scolded.

"Sorry," the apprentices chimed in unison. Then they turned back to each other.

"It is possible, but I doubt we will kill Blackmoon," Snow growled tentatively at the mention of her former Alpha's name and the murderer of her mother.

Hawkpaw noticed the sad look that entered her friend's eyes and sympathised with her, pressing her nose to Snow's white cheek. "It'll be alright. Someone will make him pay."

Snow nuzzled Hawkpaw back in thanks. For the rest of the gathering the apprentices were lost in their own thoughts and daydreams about the prophecy that had begun to unfold.

**Sweeet…. Anyway, you can think about what Hawkpaw is turning in to, and what involvement Snow and Foxpaw will have in the prophecy… yes, if you hadn't noticed, they will be part of it. I also didn't want them to be all slow with the prophecy stuff, so I had them figure out what fox and snow meant. Teehee! Well, until next chappie! Rand R! -Spiritwind**

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	14. Chapter 13

**Hi, yall! Sorry this took so long, I had a lot of homework. Sorry it's also kinda short… Enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, but I do own this story that is an original based off Warriors by Erin Hunter(s)._

Chapter 13

Snow retuned to the Tribe's camp without Hawkpaw. The human had decided to stay with the cats for a while again. Remembering that she was now an apprentice, the pup trotted over to the apprentices' den, made of a large cage of thornbush. Rain and Shadow, who had been apprenticed almost a moon before her, ran up to their friend.

"Hey! How was the gathering?" Rain asked. Shadow nodded.

"Fine, but I am really tired."

The sun was beginning to rise, the blackness of the night fading into a less dark blue.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted. Why did the gathering end so late?" inquired Shadow, who's small pup jaws parted wide in a yawn, displaying extremely frightening teeth. The pups were getting bigger now, nearly half of what their height would be when they were fully grown warriors.

"You guys didn't have to wait for me," Snow growled, blushing slightly at the affection both males showed towards her.

"We know," Shadow gruffed, his tongue lollying out. "But we wanted to make sure you and Hawkpaw were settled." A puzzled expression entered the pup's gray eyes and he looked around. "Where is she anyway?"

Rain sighed. "She went back with the cats, didn't she?"

Snow nodded in understanding. The brothers had taken a liking to the girl. When they first met her they were a bit suspicious, thinking that maybe this was just spy from the Giants, but after a while, once they had heard her story from Silvermoon, they were okay with her. In fact, after a while, Snow thought Rain started to crush on her, but he soon forgot that and whatever loving feelings he might have had before turned into friendship. Even Scratch, a gray-backed, white-chested wolf who had always been very against Giants, especially in their territory, had a noricable soft spot for Hawkpaw. She was so rude to her at first that Snow thought Hawkpaw would feel excluded for the rest of her Tribe life, or at least until Scratch herself died. Though she herself did not particularly like the she-wolf, Snow shivered at the thought of loosing the tribe-mate. She loved all the wolves in the Tribe, no matter how they acted to her.

For a moment, Snow thought fleetingly of Fallenleaf. She was getting to the age that she needed an apprentice. Though she herself would not mind the position of a healer, she already had a mentor, and hadn't her mother risked tribehood when she lied about Snow's ability to have pups so she could take on the job as a full warrior? Oh, well, her heart belonged to that anyway.

"Let's go, Snow," Shadow urged. Rain had already gone to sleep in the den. Looking more closely, Snow's best male friend noticed she looked distant. "Are you alright?" His eyes were full of concern. After Cloud had died, Shadow had really opened up to Snow, knowing that now she understood his feelings. After that, he became more like he had been before his brother died, but there was still something she knew he was holding back from her.

"I'm fine, Shadow." Seeing that he was not convinced, Snow rasped her tongue over his ear, more affectionately than reassuringly. Shadow licked her back between the eyes.

"Come on, I brought you new bedding after I fetched some for the elders."

Snow gratefully snuggled up in her moss nest. It was right between Rain and Shadow's. Right when Snow moved in, she had insisted on leaving an empty space near her for when Rose moved in. Hawkpaw did not live in a den with anyone else, unless they chose to sleep with her. Since she was so big curling up next to everyone and tended to sprawl out in the night, she had her own den, under a tree who's boughs were high enough that she could stand up, but low enough so she could have complete privacy. The branches were so strong that she could climb almost to the top, which was about fifteen feet high, and that could also provide protection from enemies.

_Snow was deep into her dreaming when she shuddered at the familiar scent that blew all around her, swallowing her up into a vision. Her mother was standing beside her._

"_Cloud!" Snow whined, delighted yet mournful. "Why are you here? Silvermoon told me you would see me soon, but I didn't expect it to be now."_

"_Snow, listen to me," the white she-wolf growled seriously. "I have a prophecy for you."_

"Another_ one?" Snow groaned impatiently._

"_Yes. The first one has been changed." Snow nodded, and Cloud went on. "Frozen rain, small fox, and great raptor must join enemies, for if they do not, a greater threat will tear up the forest to its core and all will be lost but the blackness of a moonless night."_

"_Why are you telling me?" Snow wailed, frustrated, letting tears well up in her eyes. "I am nothing important."_

"_I will also tell Fallenleaf, but you must know for a reason I cannot tell you. You will have to figure it out on your own."_

"_But I can't! I'm just a pup."_

"_You can, Snow. You are more than just a pup, and you know that."_

_Snow nodded, shaking with sobs._

_Cloud faded. "I will always be with you."_

☼☼☼☼☼

Hawkpaw returned to the CatClan camp with Foxpaw. She quickly gathered moss for her den, made out of some saplings, curled up, and went straight to sleep. She woke to Darkfire and Silverpaw's prodding, and she remembered it was time for training.

"Sorry," she murmured, brushing scraps of moss off her.

"Lazy butt," Silverpaw growled mockingly.

"Shut up," she hissed back.

Silverpaw was the kit she knew best from the Clan. Darkfire had taken both the apprentices on without realizing it, so he had them train together. Of course, Hawkpaw was a lot bigger than the toms, but she was also a lot clumsier. Whenever she leapt at Silverpaw, he would neatly step under her and paw her belly with sheathed claws. The girl would always growl in annoyance, but it was soon shared as a joke between them.

Hawkpaw would also sometimes train with the pups that were in the Clearing, but even they were slightly smaller. If Hawkpaw was upright, she stood at about four and a half feet tall, while if the pups stood up they would be only around two or three feet. Still, it was easier than the two foot tall cats.

"Today we learn how to sneak attack," meowed Darkfire once the three reached the Clearing. "You have to make sure that the other cat, or wolf," he added with a glance at Hawkpaw, "does not smell, feel, or hear you. Can either of you tell me how you can do that based off your hunting skills?"

"In order for them not to feel you you must walk as lighly as you would stalk a mouse, and for them not to hear you you would have to stalk them as you would a rabbit," Silverpaw mewed promptly.

"And for them not to smell you you have to be down wind," Hawkpaw added.

"Very good," Darkfire commented approvingly. "Now let's practice."

The sun moved across the sky as the apprentices worked to perfect their sneak attacks even though Darkfire had told them the lesson would continue for a few more sunrises. By sunhigh, when the training would end, Silverpaw had almost got it down, but Hawkpaw had only gotten the scenting part right. Because of her human clumsiness, the girl made an exessive amount of noise, though it seemed quiet enough to her, and she always put her callused hands down just hard enough for the Leader to sense.

"You have to put nearly all your weight on your haunches," he kept telling her, but try as she might it was always too much pressure on her front. "Concentrate!"

"I am!" she whined frustratedly. And she wasn't lying. She was trying her hardest, but it just was not enough for the cat not to notice her. Finally, on her last try for the day, Hawkpaw got two things down perfectly: the scent and the feeling.

"Good," Darkfire mewed, but there was a hopelessness in his voice that he failed to blot out. "Good. Let's go home."

Head hung low over the dirt in the Clearing. Hawkpaw sighed and followed the other two cats back to the camp, and deep in her heart she knew that all she was to the Clan and Tribe was a burden they were forced to carry.

**Poor Hawkpaw. :(. will she ever find her place? Haha! I know and you will only know if you stay tuned for the next chappie! Sorry that this is going kind of slow, but I'm working on it. R and R! -Spiritwind**

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	15. Chapter 14

**Hi! Sorry this took so long...evil homework growls at teachers... anyway, happy Thanksgiving! enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, even if I wish i did..._

Chapter 14

Not long after Flowerkit was made an apprentice, along with her siblings, Silverpaw had his warrior ceremony. Darkfire stood in the center of the camp with Silverpaw beside him and yowled to gather the Clan. The leader purred at his nephew's excitement, and wished he would be around to see how good of a successor he would be.

"Silverpaw, would you please join me before our Clan," he meowed when all the cats were assembled.

The silver tabby trotted up beside him and looked into his eyes with anticipation.

"Cats of CatClan, here stands before you your new heir. I have trained him for many moons, and though he is still not of warrior age, he must make the sacrifice as he promised at his apprentice ceremony." Darkfire paused to look around at all the agreeing faces. "He has learned well, and he is finally ready to take his place as heir."

He turned to Silverpaw, who looked up at him for he was not yet fully grown. "Silverpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Silverpaw meowed confidently. Darkfire noted how he did not shake with fear or pride as he had expected. On the contrary, he looked just slightly worried, and the rest of his emotions were screened by his unreadable expression.

"Then by the power of StarClan, Silverpaw, you will now be known as Silverstreak. You will be a great leader, protecting your Clan with strength and good judgement. I know I have chosen the perfect heir." He said the last more as a purr, rather than part of his speech, but didn't try to quiet his words.

A yowl of approval rose from Rainbowpaw, and the rest of the Clan began chanting, "Silverstreak! Silverstreak!"

Only then did the tom let his face fall into a look of happiness and a purr escaped from his throat. Rainbowpaw bounded up to him and licked him on the shoulder, but nothing more. She was maturing, yet Darkfire thought she would never loose that kit-like spirit of hers.

The leader sighed. He was suddenly tired and decided to go to his den. As he was padding over, Whitefire approached him, her eyes bright. When she saw how tired her brother looked, though, she looked concerned.

"Darkfire, are you alright? You look so... so..."

"Old?" he mewed, meaning it as a joke, but when he saw how serious his sister looked, he purred, "I'm fine, Whitefire. Just tired."

"Okay," she meowed uncertainly. "Do you want me to stay with you, or maybe fetch Vinewind?"

Darkfire glanced at her and shook his head. Looking around before he continued he turned back to his sister. "I'd rather have a badger on my tail than have Vinewind take care of me," he hissed. Whitefire raised her eyebrows at him, yet there was a hint of amusement in her blue eyes. "I mean, he isn't that experienced. I'd like Sunpaw better."

"I see," Whitefire teased, trying to hide a purr. Her eyes glinted with mischief.

"Oh, go away! Can't a leader have some privacy?" He cuffed her lightly over the ear with an extended forepaw. Whitefire dodged.

"Well, all right. I don't know about you, but I will admit I'm getting too old for that kind of kit-play." She flicked her brother on the ear with her tail as she turned to leave. Darkfire purred and went back to his den, curling up in his nest and going right to sleep.

_The fire of the sun will fade._

_A black moon will rise._

_Frozen rain, small fox, and great raptor must join enemies. If they do not, a greater threat will tear up the forest to its core and all will be lost but the blackness of a moonless night._

Darkfire woke with a start. Cold sweat chilled his body, and he shivered at the words.

_He must be stopped!_

Hardly knowing what he was thinking, the leader shook his head, turned over, and went back to sleep.

☼☼☼☼☼

"I don't think that's right," Sunpaw murmured as Vinewind searched for some cobwebs to cover up a gash in Beechheart's shoulder. The warrior had been chasing out a young male badger from their territory with a couple other warriors, and while attacking got swiped on the shoulder.

"Hmmm?" Vinewind mewed through a mouthful of cobweb. He was a handsome brown tom with darker smudges and yellow eyes. His disposition was admirable, as he was very kind and forgiving, not unlike Sunpaw, but he was not quite as bright as she was.

"Shouldn't we apply some marigold first to prevent infection?"

Vinewind hesitated, deciding whether to admit he was wrong, meaning admitting to himself that he was not a good medicine cat, or doing what he knew was right. Sunpaw watched his face twist in thought as he contemplated the two, finally deciding on the latter but covering up his mistake.

"Good, Sunpaw. I was checking if you would catch that." The tom purred and looked down on his apprentice with what she thought was appreciation. Vinewind knew Sunpaw knew more about medicine cat duties than he did, but Sunpaw had unverbally agreed to keeping this secret. As long as she was there to guide him, the apprectice would get her mentor into proper medicine cat shape. She purred back at him, amusement reflecting in her pale-green eyes.

After Beechheart was patched up, the warrior went back out with Rainbowpaw, who had been waiting for him to get better. Sunpaw had noticed some anxiety in her sister's eyes, but she suspected it was only because she did not want her training to be posponed. The calico she-cat knew that her mentor would be okay. She also knew a thing or two about herbs and cuts from Sunpaw.

Not long after, Foxpaw trotted in while Sunpaw was sorting some herbs that had been brought back at sunhigh. He just came to chat, and Hawkpaw was not far behind him when they came in through the cave entrance, which was covered in brambles to protect it.

"Hey," her brother mewed, touching noses with her in greeting. "Doing your duties I presume?" He purred a little, chuckling.

"Yes." Sunpaw glanced at him for a moment, then turned back to her herbs.

"Do you want some help?" suggested Hawkpaw. The human was looking more deformed by the minute, the stump in her back getting longer all the time, her nose getting darker every second. Yet all the animals seemed not to care in the least. It may have been becuase they were all used to the gradual change, and the cats already knew she was going to go through a transformation, as Darkfire said at the girl's apprentice ceremony. Sunpaw just blinked in gratitude.

"Yes, please."

She made sure the other two were able to identify the different leaves and the no longer healthy from the healthy. When she was comfortable with them not messing up, the sorting went quite quickly and Vinewind let the apprentices go on a hunting trip with Rainbowpaw and Silverstreak.

٭٭٭

"I think I smell vole," Foxpaw meowed. He dropped instinctively into a hunter's crouch. Silverstreak put a paw in front of him to keep him where he was. The ginger tom looked up at him, puzzled. The white tip of his tail twitched slightly.

"Let Hawkpaw do it." The gray tabby turned to the human, his expression unreadable. She cocked her head a bit to the right questioningly, but the tom only jerked his head in a single nod. Shrugging, Hawkpaw did as she was told.

Sniffing the air, though it wouldn't do much good with the dull scent glands of a human, Hawkpaw spotted her prey. An almost silent growl escaped her throat, but this was part of her plan. The breese was going to the left, and the sound echoing from Hawkpaw's throat traveled with it, eventually reaching a place behind the vole. Not sensing the human, the brown-gray rodent scampered right to Hawkpaw, who quickly killed it before it knew what hit it.

"Good, good," was all Silverstreak said. They buried the vole to take it back to the camp later, and caught a few more things before doing so.

Right when the group got back to camp, Silverstreak dropped his pieces of fresh kill on the pile and went to talk to Darkfire. He wouldn't tell the others what about, so they could only wonder. Flowerpaw bounded up to join them, brushing against Foxpaw as she sat down. Sunpaw noticed her brother suddenly get tense, lower his gaze, then relax. She chuckled softly to herself, marvelling at how foolish animals got when they were in love.

"So," she began, fixing Foxpaw with a mischevous stare. "Does anyone here like someone in the clan?"

The ginger tom glared at her, coloring slightly. Flowerpaw shuffled her forepaws anxiously, looking up at him.

"Ummm," he mumbled. Foxpaw glanced at the she-cat next to him, then stiffened and quickly looked away when their eyes met. "I don't know," he mewed nervously. Sunpaw knew he was lying.

Flowerpaw seemed to get curious and a little sad at the response, for she was most likely hoping for a more direct answer, preferably a positive one. She also seemed to be gathering up the courage to say something herself. Finally, with a fleeting glance at Foxpaw, she mewed, "I like someone."

Foxpaw, startled, whipped his head around to face her. He opened his mouth to say something, but before anything came out, Silverstreak bounded up to Hawkpaw.

"I have some good news," he meowed. She nodded for him to continue. "Hawkpaw, you will have your warrior ceremony tomorrow!"

"Oh, really?" The girl was so excited she leapt up onto her feet. "Thank you so much!" Hawkpaw went back down on all fours and snatched Silverstreak up in a hug. "Finally, this has taken forever." The gray tom was yowling protests and the human put him back down apologetically.

"Ugh!" he growled. "You have to stop acting like a kit!" Silverstreak cuffed her lightly over the head. Hawkpaw tried to do the same with her heavily callused hands, but the tabby dodged. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm so hungry I could eat a deer!" He padded off toward the fresh kill pile.

"Yeah, bring us back some fresh kill, will ya?" Rainbowpaw called after him. They weren't sure, but the apprentices thought they heard him mumble, "Lazy tails."

Sunpaw turned back to Flowerpaw and Foxpaw. The two were both awquardly stiff and uncomfortably shuffling thier paws. Amused, Sunpaw purred, "So, Flowerpaw, you were saying?"

"Ummm..." The she-cat didn't know what to do. Hawkpaw kindly provided an outlet.

"I have a wonderful idea," she meowed. "Let's change the subject."

"That would be lovely," Flowerpaw mewed at the same time as Foxpaw said, "Yes, let's."

Sunpaw purred a little as she nibbled on the mouse she was sharing with Rainbowpaw. The food supply was going down slowly but surely as winter set in on the forest. The golden-yellow she-cat wished spring would come already so the two lovebirds could get on with things already, at least once they were warriors. But for now, she was content with their apprentice lives, care-free and wonderful.

**Haha! I love Hawkpaw's line... anyway, thanks for reading! i'll try to get the next chapter out asap. R and R! -Spiritwind**

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	16. Chapter 15

**Hi! I was writing like crazy today, so this one came out real quick. Just letting you know, this chapter will be a little depressing... wait, no, really depressing... just read to find out. thanks to those who reviewed!**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, but I do own this story, so DON'T STEAL IT:P_

Chapter 15

Hawkshadow happily bounded along a trail she'd made to a well-stocked pile of wood she'd collected for cooking her food. She rarely did this now, but she knew it would be healthier for her.

It was two days after her warrior ceremony, and the human was feeling fresh as ever in the freezing winter air. Her bare skin was rough with goosebumps, but her ever-thickening body hair provided a warmer blanket over the tanning cover. The bump in her back was about seven inches long now and she was able to move it around freely.

_Like a tail_, she thought laughingly as she collected her sticks. Indeed, it was like a tail, herself like a beast from a kit story. Twitching her gray-brown nose she picked up the scent of squirrel with her sharpening senses. Dropping into a hunting crouch she put the her weight onto her haunches, preparing to leap at the black squirrel that bounded into view.

She leapt.

As Hawkshadow soared through the air, she could feel her warrior spirit run through her every vein, making her heart race with the thrill of a hunt. She looked before her at the dead creature under her hands and noticed something else she had not payed attention to. Her fingers were shortening into stubs at the end of her emmensely calloused hands. Her palms were blackening, as were her feet and knees. Come to think of it, she did not need to walk on her knees anymore as her legs had shortened and she was able to walk comfortably on her feet without sticking her butt in the air.

Knowing it would be impossible to carry the animal in her hands with studs for fingers, she carried the squirrel back to camp between her teeth. She could feel its blood seep thickly into her mouth and paused to swallow the tangy liquid. It felt so warm in her throat. Now she knew why Snow had said to her before that she was missing out on something good when she cooked her meat.

From then on, Hawkshadow ate her food raw. Like a beast of the forest.

☼☼☼☼☼

Snow huddled up at Shadow's flank, seeking warmth from his comforting body. Black clashed with white as she pressed her nose into his fur, drinking in his scent. She liked the smell of it. A quiet growl emerged from the back of her throat, much like a purr. Shadow stirred at the noise and Snow jumped, only then noticing that she had not been dreaming.

"Hmmm?" the black wolf grumbled, turning over to look at Snow with his half-opened gray eyes. "What's wrong, Snow?"

"Oh, um, uh, nothing!" she stammered. She racked her brain for an excuse. "Um, you m-must have been d-dreaming."

Shadow's brow furrowed as he inspected his friend curiously. "Yeah, I must have been..." He shook his head and looked away. He caughed dryly. "Well, uh, let's go get some fresh kill."

Snow quickly nodded and followed her friend out of the den, quietly stepping around a soundly sleeping Rain.

As Snow contentedly chewed on a bone she was reminded that tonight was the Gathering. Excited, she remembered that Hawkpaw would be coming back to stay with them, as she had decided to do every moon.

"I'll switch off," she had said. It was after the last Gathering and Snow was saying good-bye to Hawkpaw and Foxpaw. "That way I won't feel like I have to choose, and neither Clan will be insulted."

Snow ignored the fact that she had said Clan instead of Tribe, but she comforted herself with the thought that her friend had first lived with the cats.

Tess, the border collie, padded up to Snow, bringing her back to the present.

"Hi," she gruffed, nuzzling the white she-wolf with her muzzle. The two had become good friends, finding that they had a lot in common.

"Oh, hey, do you want to share this bone?" Snow offered politely, nosing half of the cracked bone to the dog.

"Sure, thanks!"

They settled beside each other, Shadow close by. Snow licked out some marrow from the bone, smacking her lips in delight. Bone marrow was among her favorite foods, even if it wasn't very filling. Bekky the boston terrier and Cloe the husky joined them, and Shadow edged closer to the females to join the conversations they were having. This didn't last long, though, because Feather came up to Snow so they could get to the hollow and train, plus Shadow's own mentor, Peregrine, a brown, white, and black she-wolf, came to collect him as well.

٭٭٭

Snow was surprised not to see Hawkpaw at the Clearing. She knew her friend was getting close to her warrior ceremony, so she must be out training most of the day to make sure she was ready. She did notice Foxpaw, though, training with Dustpelt and another cat who looked a couple moons younger than him. Before she started her own training, Snow padded over to her cat friend.

"Hi, Snow," he mewed when he saw her approaching. Excusing himself politely from the training, Foxpaw flicked his tail for the other apprentice to follow and he glided up to touch noses with the wolf. "This is my friend, Flowerpaw. She was recently apprenticed."

"Hello," mewed Flowerpaw shyly as she too touched noses with Snow.

Snow bent down a little so the small she-cat could reach her nose. "Hi." She turned to Foxpaw, getting right to the point. "Where's Hawkpaw? Shouldn't she be training?"

The tom purred in amusement. "She's Hawkshadow now. Her warrior ceremony was a couple sunrises ago."

"Oh." Snow wondered why she hadn't noticed that her friend hadn't been in the Clearing before. _Perhaps I noticed now because I'm so excited to see her._ She blinked and grinned, then turned to go back to her training.

☼☼☼☼☼

Darkfire daintily picked his way through the gorse tunnel leading into the CatClan camp. He had just gone on a hunting trip, bringing back what little prey he had caught. Winter was making the forest hungry, the woods as stripped of prey as the trees were of their leaves. When the leader entered the camp he nearly leapt out of his fur at the sight before him, the mouse and rabbit he caught falling liply from his open mouth.

A battle was brewing, tention was in the air. Wolves had invaded the camp, snarling at the hissing and spitting cats, advancing on them. There were only about four or five, but at the head of the group was a meanacing wolf, black as a starless night, eyes blazing like embers.

Blackmoon.

The former Alpha was advancing on a group of warriors who protected the other cats of the clan. In the lead was Whitefire, challenging Blackmoon as if they had been life-long enemies. She snarled at him, possibly streaming out threats of death and other such wonderful fates. To Darkfire's horror, the wolf barred his teeth and leapt at the creamy warrior. His sister yowled in surprise as a flash of black fur bowled her over. When he withdrew from the she-cat, the light form lay ominously still.

With a yowl of pure hatred, Darkfire lunged himself at Blackmoon, catching him off guard and slashing at his face. A couple more warriors charged in after him, the few who had come with him on their hunting trip. These flew into the flanks of the other wolves, who barked in astonishment. Following their leader, the other warriors flung themselves into the battle, scratching and biting wherever their teeth and claws found hold.

Darkfire was aiming for Blackmoon's eyes while quickly dodging the traitor's snapping jaws. He knew that if he lost his footing even once he would join StarClan in a moment. Yet he was so blinded with fury to care about his own safety. Anyone who dared take the life of his sister would pay the worst possible price.

Finally the wolves started to back off. They were losing to the hatred and numbers of the cats. As if as a surrender, Blackmoon flung Darkfire off his shoulder, nearly ripping out the leader's teeth. He landed with a thud on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. Blackmoon then seemed to change his mind, placing his giant paw on the leader's throat.

"It's been nice knowing you," he growled. Darkfire's eyes widened in fear. He knew what was coming. The tom struggled to escape Blackmoon's grasp with no avail. The black wolf barred his teeth, raised his head, and struck.

**AAAHH!!!! CLIFFHANGER!!! I'm so sad... the next chapter will be quite upsetting... just warning you. ugh, i'm so depressed, i can't think of anything to say... well, like Moonstar said, i want to know if ppl are there, so just R and R to let me know I have readers. -Spiritwind**

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	17. Chapter 16

**...I'm depressed. I was writing like _mad_ today. I mean, completely _mad_. I wrote 2 chapters in the equivilent of, like, five hours. It was _insane_! anyway, now you can find out why i'm depressed.**

_Disclaimer: I do not own warriors, but I do own the characters in this story, even the dead ones._

Chapter 16

Hawkshadow wondered why all the wolves were so upset and jumpy lately. Ever since that morning, the whole Tribe was glancing around, some were even crying. Snow, Rose, Rain, and Shadow decided they would go with her to ask Silvermoon.

At first the Alpha did not respond. She only looked sadly into space, here eyes clouded with grief and worry. Cedar, who was next to her, whined and licked her shoulder to get her attention again.

"Would you like me to tell them?" he offered sympathetically. Silvermoon nodded. Taking in a deep breath, the Beta wimpered again. "Blackmoon attacked."

Hawkshadow exchanged worried glances with her friends. "At the CatClan camp?" she mewed in disbelief, desperately hoping that her friends were alright.

Silvermoon nodded.

"Is everyone okay?" Snow asked, thinking the same thing as Hawkshadow. At this the mates exchanged glances.

"No," growled Cedar. He sighed wearily. "Two were killed, and, of course, there are injuries."

Hawkshadow gasped in terror. She knew every cat in the Clan, and she did not want any of them to get hurt, let alone _die_.

"Who-who died?" she asked tentatively.

"Whitefire," Silvermoon growled unexpectedly.

Hawkshadow's breath caught in her throat. She could feel the color disolve from her face as she let the news sink in. She remembered the first day she was at the camp, the day one of the cats said she was "bigger than the largest wolf in the forest." She remembered the scolding voice of another cat telling them off, saying to trust Darkfire, that she was okay if he said so. She only now realised that this cat had been Whitefire. Afraid of what was coming next, she asked, "And who was the other cat?"

Silvermoon lowered her head and whimpered, almost in a whisper, "Darkfire."

☼☼☼☼☼

Foxpaw stared in horror at the black wolf lifting his head from his uncle's black-and-orange neck. A thick crimson liquid poured mercilessly from his torn throat, a thin trickle dripping from his mouth. The leader's eyes were still open, but glazed. Foxpaw's own mouth hung open, speechless. Flowerpaw was beside him. He had stepped in front of her as a wolf was approaching, swearing he would protect her with his life. The she-cat buried her mussle in his shoulder, shaking with sobs. He longed to turn his head and comfort her, but he could not move a muscle.

His eyes wandered to where his mother's lifeless body lay, not far from her brother's. Her creamy pelt was stained with her own blood, facing away from her son. Foxpaw was glad he could not see his mother's dead face. He wouldn't be able to stand it.

The whole camp seemed to be petrified to such a stillness that no one dared breathe lest they make too sharp a noise. Some of the cats trembled with anger or fear, maybe even sadness at the loss, and the others only stood dumb, staring at their dead leader.

Blackmoon even seemed surprised at what he had done, and he did not do anything for a good while, only heaving in deep breaths and staring down at the cat he had killed. Darkfire's blood bordered the wolf's thin lips and glistened on his teeth. He closed his eyes, breathed in one more deep breath, and snickered, making Foxpaw's blood boil with anger.

"Let this be a warning of what we can do in greater numbers," sneered Blackmoon, then turned tail and disappeared into the brush with his followers a pawstep behind.

No one moved a muscle until the sun had almost vanished behind the trees. Silverstreak padded weakly over to his uncle, looking down in disbelief at his tattered form, then collapsed onto the dirt beside him. Foxpaw's mouth was so dry he couldn't swallow as he mimiced his brother's actions, their sisters doing the same. Rainbowpaw let out a wail of grief as tears leaked uncontrolably from her eyes. Flowerpaw, who had stayed where Foxpaw had left her, let out a similar yowl, and more and more cats took it up until the forest was filled with their sorrow.

Foxpaw looked beside him at Silverstreak. His brother's face was confused and scared, and the ginger tom sympathised with him, knowing that his brother would have to take on the burden of being leader way too soon. Sunpaw noticed this, too, and heaved herself up to walk over to her brother and give him a reassuring lick on the shoulder.

As if taking this as a signal, Silverstreak too lifted himself onto his strong legs as Sunpaw gently closed Darkfire's eyes with her soft paw.

"Dirtpelt, Beechheart, One-eye, please come with me to bury Darkfire and Whitefire tomorrow. We lie vigil for them tonight, and pray they have a safe journey to StarClan." Dirtpelt and Beechheart silently padded over to Whitefire, their whiskers drooping almost as much as their tails, and dragged her respectfully over to her brother's side.

Silverstreak, seeing the sorrowful look in One-eye's every feature, walked strongly up to him, trying his best to see the whole Clan through this as their new leader.

"Darkfire loved you very much," he mewed. One-eye dropped his gaze to the ground, unable to meet the eyes of the strong cat who was still young enough to be an apprentice. "He would want you to be happy." The elder looked up at Silverstreak with gratitude filling his teary eyes. The young tabby smiled and sighed, lifting his head for all the Clan to hear. "He wouldn't want any of us to grieve so much for him. All he and Whitefire ever wanted was for us to get along with each other, to be able to defend ourselves and be as one. We need to work together to defeat this enemy. We need to destroy Blackmoon in the spirit and honor of Darkfire and his sister so that there may be peace once again!"

The Clan gratefully expressed their assent, yowling out all their thoughts and feelings to the appearing stars in the gathering night.

_StarClan, keep them safe._ Foxpaw bent his head to comfortingly lick Flowerpaw between the ears as they crouched together by Darkfire and Whitefire. The small she-cat had her pretty tortoiseshell body pressed up against his ginger one. He could feel every move she made, from her soft breathing to her shaking sobs. He licked her again on the cheek before resting his head between his paws and going to sleep, his nose pressed into his mother's silky fur, drinking in her warm scent for the last time.

☼☼☼☼☼

Hawkshadow sobbed silently into her knees. She sat in her den under the tree, hugging her legs to her chest, unable to sleep. Her head rested on her legs so she could feel her eyes pressed against her knee caps. Her legs were damp by now, the drying tears making her sticky and uncomfortable, and she was caught unexpectedly by a flashback from her childhood.

"_Oh, don't cry, Aine," soothed her mother, crouching beside Adriane, placing her warm hand on the girl's back. "It'll be alright. Dusty is in heaven now. He will always look after you from up there with the ancesters. They would always accept a hamster to play with. He'll be happy up there."_

_Adriane sobbed into folded arms rested on a wooden table outside her house._

"_But he's gone forever! I'll never see him again!" She turned her blotchy face to her mother. "I want him back, Mama."_

"_I know. I miss him, too." A soft hand lifted the little girl's face, and her eyes lifted to look into her mother's beautiful, big brown eyes and gently wrinkled face. Her two slender thumbs wiped away fresh tears from Adriane's eyes and she cooed, "Come on, let's go wash your face. It's all sticky. Maybe you'll feel a little better then? I can make you your favorite cookies and we can go watch a movie together. How does that sound?"_

Hawkshadow cried even harder. How did she lose her mother? She had always made everything seem okay, made everything better. How was it that mothers always knew exactly what to do when their child was upset? They could always make everything a little brighter, no matter how dark the situation was. Just knowing they were there could comfort a troubled soul.

But Hawkshadow didn't have a mother. She had died in a fire, along with her father. And Whitefire, the next closest living thing to a mother, was dead too. She was alone. She had no one to run to, not even Darkfire—or Cloud. Cloud had said herself that Hawkshadow was a daughter to her. But she was gone, and had been for a long time.

They were all gone.

Finally the half-human, half-beast cried herself to sleep.

٭٭٭

_Snow sighed, knowing she was having another vision. She really wanted to see her mother again, but she was so depressed that she could not even make herself as excited as she had been before._

_Cloud's scent drifted into the Clearing of the Great Tree, over to where the pup sat in the center of the tree stump. Snow breathed it in gratefully, knowing that just her mother's presense would mend her heart._

"_Cloud, I need you."_

"_The prophecy is unfolding. A black moon is rising. You have to be strong so others can be too."_

"_I know, but I can't do this on my own!" Snow cried into the air. "I need you, now more than ever."_

"_You are not alone, Snow. You have never been alone. The whole forest cares about you. The whole forest is there to comfort and guide you."_

_Snow vigorously shook her head, flatly refusing to believe that Cloud would not be there to protect her from a breakdown. "No, I need _you_! It's not the same if you're not there."_

"_Things will never be as they were, Snow. You have to trust your friends. You might find that they need you too."_

٭٭٭

Snow did look around, immediately when she woke up. Before going to train with Feather, she set off to find Hawkshadow. The girl hadn't been out of her den since the news from CatClan. They were certain that Blackmoon's followers were inside the camp walls, and not even a single wolf was comfortable around another, even their own kin. Something bad was going to happen, Snow could feel it.

The apprentice found her friend curled up at the trunk of her tree, eyes tightly closed. Her legs were drawn to her bare chest, her arms resting limply on top of them. With closer inspection, Snow noticed she had been crying. She nudged Hawkshadow, causing the girl to stir. The she-wolf hurried out of the den to fetch her friend some fresh kill. She could only imagine how hungry she would be after not eating or drinking for a day.

When she returned, Hawkshadow turned to greet her.

"Hi, what are you doing in here? Shouldn't you be training?"

"Actually, I asked Feather if I could take the day off," Snow replied, placing the rabbit she'd taken to the den in front of the girl.

"You did? Why?"

"So I could take care of you. You look dreadful!"

"Oh, Snow, you didn't have to do that. Your training is more important."

"It can wait. Now eat up before I bite you."

Hawkshadow blinked in gratitude and lowered her head to devour her meal, finishing it in just seconds.

"Now let's go get you cleaned up. Your face is all blotchy and salty and it must be dreadfully uncomfortable. Even as a wolf I know how sticky tears get when they dry."

Hawkshadow followed her best friend into the dim sunlight, misted slightly by thin, gray winter clouds, chilling the air and giving the animals a feeling that they would have their first snow that day.

"After you get cleaned up," continued Snow after they had left camp, "We can wait for Shadow, Rain, Rose, Stream, Bark, Flight, and the dogs to return from their training and we can all go do anything you'd like together. How does that sound?"

"That sounds wonderful," she sighed graciously.

_Just like a mother._

**Ugh! don't be mad at me! it had to happen. I was crying writing it. No, seriously, I'm not kidding. I actually cried. I _told_ you it would be depressing. sob please R and R, even if it's something bad. –Spiritwind**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hi! I know this was quick, but I would have had the past two chapters out a while ago if it hadn't been for my account acting up for a while... anyway, enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, if I did, it would be a lot better...JUST KIDDING! no, it would be awful and no one would read it._

Chapter 17

Four wolves, three male and one female, approached Silvermoon the following morning. They looked worried, as if they expected attack. There was a white and gray one, a brown and black one, a plain black one, and the she-wolf was gray. She was the one who stepped forward, and Silvermoon aknowledged her as one of great loss when they discovered Blackmoon had been a trator. She had been his lover, and was heartbroken when he was chased out.

"Yes, Mouse?"

"We have some grave news," the she-wolf growled. She glanced back at the others before continuing. "Silverstreak, the new leader, is planning an attack."

"You mean Silverfire," the Alpha corrected automatically. "Why would they do this? We have never done anything!"

"They think we set Blackmoon on them," snarled the brown and black one disgustedly.

"I don't think they would..." Silvermoon began, but Mouse lashed out at her in fury.

"Are you calling us liars?" she challenged, pulling her lips back to reveal glistening fangs. "If so, you call us traitors!"

Silvermoon was forced to believe them. They had always been some of the most loyal and trustworthy warriors.

"Very well. We will have a meeting with them on this matter."

"No," Mouse growled, seeming to have caught hold of herself. "I don't think you understand the urgency of this. They are planning an attack on us _now_! We have to get to them before they get to us!"

Silvermoon sullenly nodded and told them to get a band of warriors together and leave immediately. She was not certain whether the wolves had been lying or not, but the she-wolf had no reason to think they had.

They had always been the most trustworthy... not counting Cloud.

☼☼☼☼☼

Hawkshadow could not believe it. She just couldn't. She knew Silverfire, and he would never be this stupid! What was she going to do? Quickly deciding, she asked to go with the band of warriors to the camp. At first, Mouse, who was leading the troop, seemed a bit uneasy at her coming, but at last she let her come.

"As long as you try and stay out of trouble," she warned the girl. Nodding, Hawkshadow knew that the cats wouldn't hurt her... would they?

٭٭٭

Hawkshadow watched helplessly from afar as the wolves and cats threw themselves at each other. What could she do? She was certain now that something was going on, after Mouse had confronted Silverfire and he had no idea what she had been talking about. Something very wrong was happening.

The girl watched as Flameear was thrown to the ground, snarling at the wolf who had tackled him, one of the four who had taken the news to Silvermoon. The ginger warrior clawed at the wolf's belly with his hind claws, and it howled in fury. Finally it let go of him, only to be tackled by two more cats, Rainbowpaw and Silverstreak. They clawed up the wolf until it was forced to flee for its life back to the WolfTribe camp.

Silverfire turned to come face-to-face with Mouse, who barred her fangs at him. His eyes widened at what she said, but Hawkshadow could not hear a word.

"Trator! I knew you would never let Blackmoon go! You loved him too much. That's why you always visited him when he captured my siblings and me! _You_ were the one who took care of us, always coming in and chatting with that murderous wolf, even when he was still Alpha! You knew he was planning something!"

By now, all battles had stopped, and every animal was turned toward the quarreling wolf and tom.

"I would never do such a thing!" barked Mouse in defence, looking nervously around her at the penetrating eyes of her Tribe-mates, all curious and astonished at what Silverfire had said.

"Don't lie to me!" spat the leader. "I would never lie like this! I didn't want a fight in the first place, only with Blackmoon!"

"Well, you said yourself that you thought Blackmoon was still among us and we were keeping him safe in our camp!" growled one of the other wolves who had been with Mouse.

"No, I most certainly did not!"

"You did, we have witnesses," Mouse gruffed, almost in a sickly calmness.

Feather, who was one of Silvermoon's friends, and had been one of Cloud's, limped up to Mouse, a gash in her hind leg staining her gray-white coat with blood.

"Did you betray us?" she asked neutrally.

Mouse didn't know what to do. She stood for a moment, a look of guilt on her face. Finally, she decided it was useless to lie.

"I never thought of it that way," she murmured. "All I did was help him stir things up a bit. It was part of his plan-"

"Plan? What plan?" Feather pressed.

At first it seemed that Mouse would tell her, but she shook her head stubbornly. "I won't tell. I can't!" She looked up at her Tribe-mate helplessly. "I love him. I thought he was doing the right thing."

Feather dropped her head sadly, wondering what to do.

"I can't deal with this," she said finally. "When we get back to camp, we'll go to Silvermoon and she'll decide what to do with you." Then, turning back to Silverfire after gathering up the wolf warriors, she added, "And don't think we're done with you. We still know you think some of us, besides Mouse, are on Blackmoon's side. Don't you think that for a minute!" And with that, the wolves left the camp as though nothing had happened.

Hawkshadow stayed behind. She wanted to be with the cats, now that the wolves were being stupid. How could they think that the cats were against them on this? Heaving a great sigh, the girl set out to find Foxpaw.

She discovered the cat choosing fresh kill from the pile with Flowerpaw, both slightly shaken from the short battle. As she was getting closer to the couple, she stumbled on a dry twig, making a sharp snap. The apprentices jumped and swerved to face her, fur bristling slightly. When they saw who it was, both cats relaxed, letting their fur lie flat.

"Hi, Hawkshadow," mewed Foxpaw shakily. "Sorry if we startled you, but, well, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

Choosing her own meal from the pile, Hawkshadow padded over to a place by the apprentices' den to eat. Rainbowpaw and Acornpaw, one of Hollywhisker's other kits, joined them. He was as brown as the seed itself, his coat a shining chestnut-tinted color. His eyes were blue-ish green, reminding Hawkshadow of the ocean, which, she realized, she hadn't seen in a very long time. Yet, maybe they were a bit too green to be like the ocean—she couldn't remember.

All the cats at camp seemed very sullen and dull lately, and the mutant girl was part sad, part relieved to know that they were also grieving for Whitefire and Darkfire. Looking around, she noted that this was the first time she had been with the cats when her two older friends weren't there. She scanned the clearing for something that would help her aching heart when her eyes set on Flameear. He was also choosing some fresh kill, and as he lifted his head made eye contact with Hawkshadow. He flicked his ears at her in greeting, but did nothing more as he made his way to the warriors' den to eat with Beachheart. The sandy tom mewed something to his friend, but Flameear just shook his head as if to say, "I'm fine."

Hawkshadow felt a pang of concern for the ginger tom. There were bags under his eyes as if he had been kept awake weeping, and the green pools were lacking their constant glow. His tail drooped until it trailed on the dirt ground, and his coat didn't look healthy at all, as if he hadn't bothered grooming in moons. She decided to speak with him later.

Flameear was about to retire to his nest when Hawkshadow leapt up to stop him. Excusing herself, she dashed over to the tom, beckoning for him to follow her on the path to the Clearing of the Great Tree.

٭٭٭

"Hawkshadow, is this really necessary?" Flameear growled annoyedly, acting, and looking, as if she had just disturbed his sleep.

"Yes, and I suggest you sit down."

The ginger tom had nothing to do but obey, so he seated himself on the tree stump.

"You're not yourself."

The simple statement left Flameear stumped. Gathering his thoughts for something to say, he replied, "How do you mean?"

"Oh, cut the formality! I've had enough of it, and I'm not used to it, no matter how many moons I've been living with it here." The cat looked taken aback for just a moment, then blinked in a signal for her to get on with what she wanted to say.

"I know you are grieving for Whitefire," she began. Flameear wasn't surprised to hear this, as he had been comforted many times before. "I know exactly how you feel."

Flameear seemed to flare up at this, his tail bristling until it was three times its size. "Everyone says that, but you don't really know! They always say that they know how I feel and that if there's anything they can do, just talk to them. But they never speak their minds! They never say, 'Oh, I know you feel that way, but just _move on_!' I don't _care_ what they say if it doesn't mean anything, and I _hate_ it when they say the understand when they have _no idea_ what it's like!"

Hawkshadow took in a deep breath, deciding what to say to calm the yowling cat down.

"That's not what I meant," she growled, a little annoyed herself. "If you recall, I came to the forest because I'm an orphan. My parents died in a fire, and I couldn't do a thing about it. Later, I find out that they did it so some prophecy could be fulfilled, and that they wouldn't be able to handle loosing me, so they chose death. Well, how was _I _going to feel? They didn't even consider that, neither did the people who told them to do what they did.

"Then Cloud dies, and she was the next thing to a mother I had. It was so sudden, I couldn't even cry. And, after that, Darkfire _and_ Whitefire die, and they were my first friends I had in the forest, the first ones that would accept me. No one _ever_ asked me what I wanted in this, and I couldn't be there to grieve any of them, send them off to StarClan, or say good-bye in any way! No one _ever_ asked me how I felt, and no one except Snow, who _also_ lost Cloud, said they understood. I would be grateful if I were you that anyone cares enough to worry about you." She took a breath, letting this sink in to Flameear's now understanding eyes.

"So don't you think for a minute that none of us feel the words that we say to you. Those other cats could only imagine what you felt, and it wasn't pretty to them, so they wanted you to be happier. If I had more friends like that, I would be the most grateful person in the world."

"I-I'm sorry," Flameear stammered, shaking his head. "I had no idea. You're right, I knew that already, I mean, that I should be grateful. It's just that I...loved her, so much. I can't believe she's gone. She was only trying to protect the camp while Darkfire was out hunting."

"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have ranted like that and made you feel worse, but, please, could you tell me exactly what happened? I would like to know how my friends got killed."

As Flameear explained the scene, he was choking back tears, yet at the same time it seemed to be making the full-grown cat feel better. When he was finally finished, Hawkshadow's eyes had let loose two tears, one for each of the cats she had loved most dearly.

**...ummm...my mind has gone blank. Well, if you hadn't noticed already, I changed the name of the story and the summary. Well, the summary's just the prophecy, but oh well. R and R, please! ...Prettyplease with a cherry on top? i mean, only like 4 people have been reviewing. Thanks! –Spiritwind**

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	19. Chapter 18

**Hi, all! Sorry this took so long, but i had lots of homework. Teehee. Anyway, happy reading! (hoping it snows so i won't get more homework)**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, but I do own this fanfiction thingy. If you take it, I'll claw your ears off._

Chapter 18

Snow was nervously chewing on a deer's leg bone with Tess at her side, comforting her. She was hoping that Foxpaw and Flowerpaw would be alright, as she had taken a liking to also the ginger tom's bright eyed she-friend. Finally, the battle patrol returned, Feather in the lead. Jumping up to greet her mentor, the silvery she-wolf nodded in welcome, but strode past her with Mouse close behind.

Curious, Snow sat back down on her haunches and waited for them to come back out of Silvermoon's den, where their bushy tails had disappeared behind the veil of tightly woven branches. But she never got the chance to talk with either her adoptive mother or her mentor, as both hurried out of the den, Mouse following them, her head close to the ground and her tail between her legs. Feather flanked the gray she-wolf, half protecting her, half seeming to protect the Tribe.

Silvermoon leapt onto Spirit Rock, howling the meeting call. Snow spotted Rose, who had been playing with her brothers close to the den. Maybe she had heard something of what was going on.

"Hi," she growled, waving her tail at her foster sister.

"Hey," the gray-ish chestnut she-wolf responded. "What's wrong? You look troubled."

"Did you see when Feather brought Mouse into Silvermoon's den?" Snow answered her sister's question with an indirect question of her own.

"Yes, they looked pretty grave. What's that to you?" It was not a rude comment, simply curious."

"Well, did you hear anything they said?"

"A little, but it was kind of muffled, as they were speaking sort of quietly, as if they didn't want anyone else to hear. Why?" she asked again.

"I'm just curious. What did you catch of their conversation?"

"I think Silvermoon was mad about something Feather had said, and I thought I could hear her growling and Mouse whimpering, maybe submitting to something."

"Okay, thanks."

"What do you think's going on?" asked Stream, who had settled beside his sisters, with Bark and Flight close by.

Silvermoon had started the meeting, and her first few barks were, "I have some grave news."

"I suppose we'll find out," Snow murmured uneasily.

"This new bit is even worse than the one before about Blackmoon, and it is related," Silvermoon continued. "Some of you may have known already, but Mouse was Blackmoon's lover, and would have been his mate, had he not turned on the warrior code."

There were a few snarls and growls of disapproval at this comment, directed almost straightforwardly toward the gray wolf in question.

"I had thought that anyone who had a right mind would think this wolf traitorous and deceitful, but I was wrong. Mouse had been helping him with his treachery, including taking the kits hostage. She loves him still, and is in contact with him. Today, she came to me with three other warriors and reported that Silverfire had claimed that we were helping Blackmoon in his attack on their camp, and so blaming us for Darkfire and Whitefire's deaths."

There were a few angry growls at this, but silence was soon claimed again. Silvermoon went on, "Just now I find out that all Mouse had really heard was that he thought there were wolves in our Tribe that are helping Blackmoon, and that he does not trust all of us. She says that she was helping Blackmoon with some sort of plan that she refuses to say, possibly to protect her lover."

A wolf spoke up from the back in a low howl. "You said Silverfire does not trust all of us, and that he thinks that more of us than Mouse are helping Blackmoon. Do you mean that he _still_ thinks that, even after Mouse was found out?"

Silvermoon sighed. "I imagine so."

The gathered Tribe took up an angry howling. Only Feather, Mouse, Silvermoon, and Cedar stayed silent. Twitching her ears for the wolves to quiet down, the Alpha asked if there were anymore questions.

"What will happen to Mouse?" barked another wolf.

"She will be exiled from our territory," growled Silvermoon, a touch bitterly. "Though we will do this humanely, unlike the way Blackmoon was chased out. Scratch and Whimper will escort her to the edge of our land. This will be done immediately."

Waving her tail as a sign that they were dismissed, the wolves split up into groups, muttering amongst themselves. Silvermoon leapt down from the Spirit Rock, and the two wolves assigned with the task of taking Mouse away went right to it, and Snow watched her ex-Tribe-mate leave.

Bark shivered. "That's really creepy. What if there _are_ still some traitors here?"

"Then we'll find out," Snow said darkly.

☼☼☼☼☼

Hawkshadow lifted her head wearily from the moss nest she had to look out into the misty morning light. A fog had decended over the freezing camp, making it difficult to see. Or was it snow?

Stepping out into the open air, the mutant identified the white falling crystals. They were small and light, barely sticking, but were falling so fast that the air was thick with them. Shivering at the freezing moisture that clung to her body, Hawkshadow puffed out the fur-like hair she now had against the cold. She trotted over to the fresh kill pile and selected a cold mouse, taking it quickly back to her den. After finishing, she went back out to wake up Foxpaw and Rainbowpaw. She had an idea so the food wouldn't be spoiled by the snow.

Trying to step as lightly as she could, the girl accidentally woke up all the apprentices. Flowerpaw, who was closest to her, looked up with tired amber eyes and opened her tortoiseshell mouth to ask, "What's going on?"

"Nothing, but I have an idea that will get you guys out of training today."

All heads turned towards her expectantly, now wide awake.

٭٭٭

The creatures got right to it, digging a hole that would hold all the fresh kill and more. Hurriedly scratching at the dirt, Hawkshadow fleetingly thought how convenient it would be to have the claws of a wolf right now, practically made for digging large holes. It would only need to be about two feet deep and the same amount wide, but it would take almost all morning with the packed dirt this hard.

After the sun was clearly risen over the trees, yet still not visible through the clouds, snow was gathering at a faster rate, getting thicker and more like a blizzard. They had also made progress, about one foot deep, but no more. The thin claws of the cats were making good progress, and everyone was switching off, but Hawkshadow felt useless with her dull, blunt nails that kept breaking or bending backwards with all the moisture that softened them. She had dirt stuck between them, and it was getting quite uncomfortable. The snow did help a bit, though, as it made the dirt softer as it melted, though Hawkshadow was sure she was going to get frostbite on her bare hands and feet.

The girl suddenly realized that her plan would not work unless she had something she knew only the wolves would have.

"I need to go to the WolfTribe territory!" she yowled. The wind was picking up, howling like the canines themselves, and the snow was blowing so hard that even the cats, with their thick winter coats, were shivering. The light snow had turned into a definite blizzard, and it was insanely dangerous for something, especially a human, to go wandering around by themselves. Foxpaw stepped forward.

"I'll come with you! You shouldn't go alone!"

"No, don't! It's enough that I'm trespassing, and if you came, they would not let me into their camp!"

"What makes you think this will work, anyway?" called Acornpaw, annoyance and fear in his eyes. "We'll freeze to death! Can't we just forget the fresh kill?"

Hawkshadow hesitated, knowing that she was putting them all in danger, though if they didn't do this, the whole clan would starve.

"Okay, I need three of you to stay and pile the kill into the hole! The others can go back to the den!"

Rainbowpaw, Foxpaw, and Flowerpaw stayed out, and the other apprentices dashed gratefully back into their den, out of the snow and wind. Hawkshadow went on her way, bracing her limbs against the strong gusts.

Once in the safety of the trees, the wind died down a bit and the snow was less thick, though the bare branches still let in a lot of the white ice crystals. Her hands and feet were more numb than they ever had been, but she needed to save the clan from starvation. If she didn't do this, she knew at least the elders would die.

She broke into a run that could match that of a cat's, but not quite that of a wolf's. It was fast, none the less, so it would do for now. Her human mind thought longingly of a hot bath and some warm cider or hot chocolate, and she stopped for a minute, thinking if this was really worth it. She could turn back and let her fingers and toes thaw under Foxpaw's warm belly...

_No!_ she growled to herself. _I have to keep going, for the sake of the clan._ And with that, she trudged on.

Reaching the WolfTribe camp proved to be a longer way than she thought. Hawkshadow zigzagged through trees, never slowing her pace. She must have traveled many miles by now, and she couldn't believe it when she reached the arched tree entrance of the camp.

She stopped when she laid foot on the inside of the clearing, and she only then noticed how cold and tired she was. The whistling snow and wind didn't help either. Finally regaining control of her freezing body, Hawkshadow pressed forward toward the den where Snow slept. There was no one around, and the fresh snow piled on the camp's floor like water in a bucket.

Suddenly, the girl felt as if her heart stopped. Her body grew warm, and her eyes began to droop. She was suddenly very tired, and she did not know why. She yelled, a human sound that had not beened called out by the mutant for as long as she lived in the forest. The cry for help was swallowed by the wind, and she collapsed onto the clean snow.

The last thing she remembered was a white blur standing over her, blending in perfectly with the white ice crystals. As she gasped for breath, another, dark brown wolf appeared, then dashed away as quickly as it had come. All around her, Hawkshadow saw a blinding white that must have been snow, but she couldn't feel a thing. Looking up, the sky was so gray with the storm it was almost black, and night must have been beginning to fall.

A starless, moonless night.

**OOO...creepy. Hopefully, Hawkshadow will be alright...hopefully. By the way, that was hypothermia she was going through, if you didn't catch on already. R&R! **

**-Spiritwind**


	20. Chapter 19

**Hi! Sorry this took so long, but it's a fairly long chapter, at least for me. Enjoy! By the way, if you haven't already, you should check out Moonstar's story, As the Wren Flies, and the story we're writing together, presently known as Believe It or Not, but we'll probably change it.**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, and I also don't own a pet larger than a hamster, even if I've wished for it all my life._

Chapter 19

Foxpaw peered out of the apprentices den. He, Sunpaw, and Rainbowpaw had finished putting the prey into the hole, and the sun had moved many tail lengths across the sky since then. She should be back by now! Though the dark gray clouds made it impossible to see exactly what time it was, the ginger tom could tell it was getting quite late, possibly to dusk.

Flowerpaw appeared beside him and pressed her flank against his. "Maybe the weather just got too heavy for her to manage and she had to stay with the wolves tonight," she suggested. Foxpaw grunted his assent, but he was still not completely convinced.

"I have to go find her," he mewed, not believing what he had just said as much as Flowerpaw.

"What?"

"I _have_ to! She could have fainted along the way, and I can't lose her!"

Flowerpaw flinched, and there was a flicker of hurt in her amber eyes. "But you might get hurt yourself."

Foxpaw sighed and turned to the tortoiseshell. He blinked his regret, then meowed stubbornly, "I'll be fine."

Without saying another word, he dashed out into the clean blanket of snow, wading through the knee-length cover of white. When he reached the trees, he looked back and saw Flowerpaw standing at the entrance of the apprentices den, but she was too far away and the air was too full of snow flakes for him to see her expression.

Flicking his tail in good-bye, the tom charged off into the less-covered forest.

٭٭٭

Not long after he left camp, Foxpaw heard quick pawsteps behind him, muffled slightly by the snow. He spun around to find Flowerpaw had followed him into the woods. Her vividly colored pelt was dusted with snow and she was shivering from nose to tail tip, but she called after him.

"Wait! Foxpaw, wait!"

"What are you _doing_?" he yowled at his friend. "Go back home! It's too dangerous!"

The she-cat slowed as she reached him, and stopped at his paws and looked up with determination and something else that Foxpaw could not recognise giving light to her warm eyes. "I'm coming with you."

The ginger tom opened his mouth to tell her that she couldn't, but sighed instead and grinned down on her, purring. He knew there would be no turning her back.

"Okay," he purred. "Let's go."

٭٭٭

Foxpaw's paws ached so tremendously when they finally reached the WolfTribe camp that he thought they would fall off from the cold. When he and Flowerpaw stepped into the clearing, the snow had built up so much that it was hard for the apprentices to push through the drafts, let alone the open spaces. The white ice crystals had built up to their chests, and when Foxpaw looked over at his she-cat companion, he nearly fainted with worry.

Flowerpaw was always a lively cat, kind and gentle, with a good sence of humor. Her pelt was always shining, no matter what the weather, and here eyes were always bright. The tom had always admired her for her strength and courage, that never seemed to falter.

Now the tortoiseshell's eyes were dull and her coat covered in snow. She was shivering uncontrolably from ears to tail, making her teeth chatter. It seemed to Foxpaw that she would not make it the next couple steps it took to get to the closest shelter, seemingly a nursery, but she managed to get inside the cave entrance, subsequently collapsing onto the dusty floor.

Inside the cave it was darkening, but Foxpaw's cat eyes adjusted to the light easily. A light dusting of snow had made its way about a tail length into the shelter, but no more, and the rest of the ground inside was dirt. The walls of the cave were steep and gently curving inward to the peak of the ceiling, and some small, leafy plants spurted from the rock sides. Foxpaw was warm enough, especially now that he was out of the blizzard, but the cave was not especially warm, as it only had three other creatures in it, not including the cats.

A few fox lengths away from where Flowerpaw lay sprawled on the floor there were two wolves standing over another form, slightly larger that the smallest wolf. The larger wolf was dark, maybe black and brown, and the other either light gray or white—the lighting made it impossible to tell.

The figure in the nest was neither wolf or cat, nor was it completely human. Though it did not have a full coat of fur, there were thick dark hairs all along its body, and its nose was black and slightly pointed. It wore no clothes, as a human would, and at the end of its spine there was a long growth that oddly resembled a tail, but it was naked as the thing itself. Foxpaw recognised the unconconcious figure as Hawkshadow.

The wolves turned to the cats who had entered the den, and the white pup dropped into an attacker's stance. Growling, she approached the felines, then stopped and straightened herself when she realised who they were.

"Foxpaw, Flowerpaw, what are you doing here?" she demanded, yet not unkindly. Then her sky-blue eyes flashed to Flowerpaw's barely concious form. "We'd better get you guys some herbs. Fallenleaf!" The other wolf had turned back to Hawkshadow, and she looked over her shoulder questioningly. "Get these cats some help, please."

The she-wolf padded over to Snow, the white pup, and growled. "Why? They're intruders!"

Snow shook her head. "They just came to find Hawkshadow, didn't you?" Foxpaw nodded wearily. "Besides, they mean no harm. They're both mine and her friends."

Fallenleaf looked at each of the animals in turn, stopping last on Flowerpaw, who still lay splayed out on the floor. "Very well," she gruffed. The healer bent her head and opened her great jaws to reveal deadly fangs, and for a moment, Foxpaw thought she was going to kill his friend. Instead, she neatly and gently lifted the she-cat by her scruff and loped over to a nother nest beside Hawkshadow's.

It was then that Foxpaw realised how exhausted he was, and he himself fell to the floor. He closed his eyes, not thinking of what the wolves would think of his action, only begging StarClan for sleep. He grunted when he was lifted by the healer, and again when he was placed in his nest. He didn't even open his eyes to see where this nest was, only shut his eyes tighter and tried to sleep, listening to the soft voices of Snow and Fallenleaf trying to revive he and his friends. As the tom drifted off to sleep, he only hoped that they would all wake up when the morning came.

٭٭٭

Hawkshadow woke up and saw a cold winter light shining through her eyelids. She was still too tired to open her eyes, but she sensed that it was still early morning. With a sigh, she turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but the light would not relent, so she reluctantly parted her eyelids.

The brilliant sunlight reflected off of icy snow that seemed to be melting, slowly but surely. The glare gave the girl a headache and she tried to sit up, but that only made her nautious. Growling to herself, Hawkshadow flumped back down onto her side, facing the wall. She felt absolutely miserable, head feeling like it was being crushed, limbs falling off, and her stomach churning terribly. Where was she? What had happened to her?

The thud of pawsteps and the quiet click of nails on the dusty ground told the girl someone was approaching. She longed to ask what was going on, but when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out—her parched throat made her have a hacking fit instead.

The animal that had come up to her was a wolf, and Hawkshadow recognised the scent as Fallenleaf's. She smelled of wolf, but also of a mixture of calming herbs, and the mutant girl drank in her scent contently.

"Are you awake?" the she-wolf asked kindly, and darkness soothed Hawkshadow's straining eyes when Fallenleaf cast a shadow over her, blocking out the blazing sun. She nodded, but was forced to shoot up from her position to vomit onto the ground before her. The healer bit her lip, then jogged away for a moment, returning from behind a cranny in the wall with a juniper berry.

"Have this." She pushed the bright red berry toward the girl.

"But they're poisonous to humans!" Hawkshadow protested. "I'll _die_!"

Fallenleaf thought for a moment, then shook her head, pushing the berry closer. "The Ancestors will protect you. Besides, you're not all human now anyways, and who knows what will happen to you if you don't stop throwing up and we get rid of that fever!"

Hawkshadow sighed and hesitated a moment, then bent her head to quickly chew and swallow the berry. A shiver went through her body and cold sweat dripped down her temples, and it was only when the healer mentioned fever that she realised that she had all symptoms she could imagine. She lay back down and closed her eyes again, and instantly drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Hawkshadow was wakened by thundering paws in the camp outside the nursery. Yowls and snarles were erupting from the snow-covered clearing, and every hair on the girl's body prickled with forboding. Trying to push every ache of sickness to the back of her mind, the mutant heaved herself onto her paws and padded silently out of the den, passing a soundly sleeping Flowerpaw and a snoring Foxpaw. Fallenleaf was no where to be seen.

The girl peered outside into the snow and here eyes widened in fear. CatClan had invaded the camp, and battle was about to crash down like a tidal wave. Tention crackled between the wolves and the cats facing each other in the center of the clearing, and Silverfire stepped forward and began growling something to Silvermoon and Cedar. Hawkshadow strained her deaf ears, that by now were slightly pointed at the top, to hear what he was saying.

"You've captured two of our apprentices, and one of which happenes to be my brother. Is this supposed to be payback for rumors from a traitorous wolf?"

Silvermoon snarled in response, pulling back her lip to reveal glistening fangs. "Never! We have other witnesses that say that you think so, and none of them would have any reason to join Blackmoon."

"I happen to remember them from the raid you 'Alpha' Blackmoon used on us. Those three males were with him then, and they assisted in making sure Darkfire was killed by holding us back. You cannot deny this! All of the Clan saw it!"

"Lies! How can we believe you, when you are accusing us of taking care of your apprentices, who trespassed on our territory?" Silvermoon barked. Hawkshadow was rigid with fear, and she could feel warmth beside her, telling her that her cat friends were watching too, unable to do a thing. "As far as that goes, we're doing you a favor!"

"I won't take this!" yowled Silverfire, and he caterwauled in fury as he leapt at the WolfTribe Alpha. The other cats, taking this as a signal, threw themselves at the other wolves, not caring whether they were pups or warriors.

"Stop! Wait!" Hawkshadow wailed, but it was too late. The forest creatures could not hear her through the sounds of the battle. Not knowing what to do, the girl held her ground, jaw slacked, eyes round as the full moon.

She watched the battle, watched her friends fighting to the death over something neither of them did wrong. Then she realised, that was Blackmoon's plan! He wanted to weaken the cats and wolves so one of them would follow him out of ambition, then he could take over the forest!

Hawkshadow snapped out of her realisation when she saw Snow tackled to the ground by Acornpaw. The apprentices were locked in battle, and she noticed Shadepaw, Flowerpaw's sister, about to leap over to help her brother. She needed to stop this!

With a sound of rage and frustration, crossed between a yowl and a howl, she plunged into the deep snow and into the middle of the fighting tribes of animals. All battles stopped, and every pair of eyes were on her, some confused, some guilty, and some still filled with the flames of battle. Hawkshadow just glared at them all, even Snow, who could not keep her gaze and looked away.

"What are you doing?" the girl snarled at them all. "I don't understand how _all_ of you could be so _mousbrained_! None of you did anything wrong, and your fighting over something you should be working together on!"

Now most of the faces were filled with understanding and guilt, and Hawkshadow snorted in dusgust. "I thought you were all noble and wise, but I guess I was wrong." She turned to where Silvermoon and Silverfire were still in a fighting position and whined, now calmed that she got her anger out. "I don't think I want to live with either of your clans or tribes or whatever. I can't be here when I think that you going to rip each other to shreds over something you shouldn't!" She paused, taking her time in looking around at all the astonished faces, all staring at her in disbelief. "I suppose I'll go live in the Clearing, and I hope none of you will fight there, if you don't mind."

Hawkshadow began to pad toward the camp entrance when Fallenleaf caught up to her.

"You're not well enough!" she protested, concern flashing in her eyes. "At least stay until you're healed."

The girl considered, then shook her head, knowing that if she didn't go now, she would never be able to leave. "Really, I feel fine. I must go." And with that, she turned and left the forest wolves and feral cats forever.

**Uhoh...What about Blackmoon? He's still roaming in the forest somewhere! AAAH! and what will happen to Hawkshadow if she still has a fever? find out next chapter! haha. R&R! –Spiritwind**


	21. Chapter 20

**Wow, this was out _fast_! and, wow again, chapter 20 already?!?! cool. i'm just that talented! heehee. well, here you go! enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors and, sadly for me, I never will. :( wow, that looks weird._

Chapter 20

By the time Hawkshadow reached the Clearing of the Great Tree, she was so weak and freezing that she could barely stand. She shook not only from the cold, but from her fever. In fact, she was so sick that she was hot and was having cold sweats, and right when she sat down on the gigantic trunk of the tree, she had to get back up and started wretching. Shaking more now from the lack of energy and from her hunger, the girl cleared off the snow from a part of the trunk and used a trick Cloud had taught her.

Packing the snow around her so that she couldn't be seen by anything in the forest, she made a little bowl she would sleep in for the night. It would be warmer than just sleeping out in the open air. The part of the trunk she had exposed was cold and wet, but Hawkshadow didn't care and she curled up in it and went to sleep.

"_Aine..."_

_Hawkshadow heard her familiar nickname being whispered around her, and she opened her eyes and stood up. She was in the Clearing, but there was no snow and it was warm with cool breezes, like on a summer night. Above her, the stars gleamed brightly, and a crescent moon glowed with its radiant light, pouring the silver shine into every shadow._

"_Aine..."_

_The name was called again, and the girl stood up, only to realize she was a regular human form now, not a mutant as she would have been if she were awake. Though still completely nude, Hawkshadow was not cold or feverish, and she closed her eyes, breathing in the comforting scents of the forest._

"_Adriane, listen."_

_The voice was her mother's. Opening her eyes once more, the girl looked around for her the owner of the soothing, yet serious, voice, but there was no one there._

"_I am here," she replied to the voice._

"_Adriane, great danger is in the forest. You have to make sure the black moon is not waxed to its fullness."_

"_What?"_

_There was no reply._

"_Mom, I don't understand. What's going to happen?"_

_At first nothing stirred, then the forest around her grew black, the stars disappeared, and the moon faded, seeming to be quenched like fire in rain. Instead, a black moon, only visible because of the bright tinge around it, like an eclipse, rose high into the air, and an ominous howling filled the forest, echoing in every corner of Hawkshadow's mind. Afraid, the girl called out._

"_Mother, where are you? Help me!"_

"_Beware!" was the only reply._

"_No, please! I can't do this on my own!"_

"_You must fulfill your destiny. The time has come."_

☼☼☼☼☼

Sunpaw woke to Vinewind's snoring. The tom had let out a loud snort, as if he had just snogged up dirt. The she-cat parted her jaws in an enormous yawn and left the den into the cloudy night.

It was well past moonhigh, and the golden cat expected the sun would be rising soon. There was not a trace of the moon or the stars, and she fluffed out her fur against the cold. She looked around the clearing, only to spot Acornpaw, Flowerpaw's brother. He had also emerged from his den, and he caught her eye and grinned, padding over to her. Dirtpelt was on watch, but he didn't seem to notice that the two apprentices touched noses in greeting.

"Good morning," mewed the brown tom cheerfully. Sunpaw felt a slight flutter in her stomach, but she tried to ignore it as the cats kept talking. "So, why are you up?"

Sunpaw hesitated, embarrassed, then quickly shook her head, covering up her foolishness with stifling a yawn. "Oh, Vinewind was snoring really loudly. I'm sure he's scared away all the prey in the forest!"

The apprentices purred at her joke, and Sunpaw blinked curiously. "Why are you awake?"

The tom shuffled his paws. "I dunno. Just couldn't sleep. Long day, you know, with the battle and all."

"Oh, right."

Sunpaw paused and looked at the ground, remembering the tale Silverfire had told her. She missed Hawkshadow, as did a surprising number of the other Clan members. She was also worried about her, being with a fever and Blackmoon roaming around. She could die easily. The she-cat silently resolved to go check on her while collecting herbs for her mentor.

Acornpaw looked around the clearing, patiently waiting for the she-cat to come out of her day dream. When she looked back up, he beamed, and Sunpaw bit her lip awkwardly.

"Well, that was interesting," she meowed.

"No, not really." The brown tom purred amusedly at her absent-mindedness. "What's up with you?"

Sunpaw grinned and shook her head. "It's nothing." The tom smiled back, and the golden she-cat felt the fluttering again.

She remembered when they first met. It seemed to her like he was older than she was, but in reality, he was a moon and a half or so younger. He was always a happy kit and apprentice; it was just part of his disposition, and he could not get rid of it. She recalled that Rainbowpaw liked him at some point, but she wasn't sure if her sister still felt the same way.

"I'm going to get some fresh kill and try to get back to sleep. Want to join me?" Acornpaw offered.

"No, thanks. I need to go back to the medicine cat den to think."

Concern flashed for only a moment in the other cat's eyes, but soon the familiar glimmer returned. "Good-night!" he mewed, and padded off toward the small fresh kill pile.

Sunpaw went back to her nest, but she knew she would not get to sleep tonight. She sat up, sighed, then let her shoulders drop in a hunch. How could this be happening? _No_, she thought. _I just like him as a friend. That's all, nothing more... or less_.

But she unthinkingly drifted back to sleep, and her dreams brought her to a fantasy she could not deny.

_Acornpaw rushed up to Sunpaw and licked her between the ears._

"_Hi!" he mewed, the glimmer of mischief and happiness in his warm, brown eyes. "Do you want to go hunting with me?"_

_Sunpaw purred. "Sure, of course!"_

_She gazed into the tom's eyes, and he looked right back, and something other than warmth filled the brown eyes of the other cat. He lowered his gaze and whispered, "I love you, Sunpaw."_

_The golden apprentice's breath caught in her throat, and she murmured back, "I love you, too, Acornpaw."_

_The tom bent to lick her again, this time on the cheek. She nuzzled him under his chin, and they just stood there for a while, no one else around to break the moment._

Sunpaw woke with a start. No, no, no, no, no! This _could not_ be happening! With a sigh, the cat looked up, noticing it was still dark outside, but getting lighter. What would she do? Deciding figuring this out in one sweep was impossible, the she-cat decided to find out why she like Acornpaw so much.

First, she decided, he was handsome, and his attitude drew him to her, a constant happiness, a safe haven to just stay in for at least a while. Then again, his character was not always a good one. She recalled how he had told Rainbowpaw he had only pretended to be friends with her, and her sister's heart had been broken. Later, though, he apologized and said he hadn't meant it, and the cats were friends again, and Rainbowpaw still liked him.

Remembering why the tom had done this was the hardest part. He wanted to be friends with Silverpaw and Foxpaw, trying to impress them. The cats were something like best friends, and Sunpaw noticed that whenever he was around them, Acornpaw acted differently. She knew her brothers though, and she was sure that they wouldn't care if Rainbowpaw or herself joined them in their games.

The brown apprentice had done similar things to Sunpaw, but not nearly as severe. He had sometimes ignored her, and she found him unapproachable when he was with her brothers. Though her siblings loved to make fun of their sisters, and them of their brothers, they wouldn't really care if Acornpaw had been nice and stopped acting like the cat they knew.

At one point, Sunpaw realized, she had told Rainbowpaw that she liked him. Her sister had been a lot younger at the time, and, of course, she told Acornpaw. The tom had been a bit surprised, and he said he didn't want things to be awkward between she and him. But he had deliberately avoided her for a couple of days. This made Sunpaw doubly upset sinse her sister had told him her secret and he was being a mouse-brained idiot. The golden cat realized he was like this a lot, but shook her head, deciding to ignore it.

Not long after things were starting to clear up after Acornpaw found out about Sunpaw's feelings, she denied that she had ever liked him, and told Rainbowpaw, who, with Sunpaw with her, told the tom. The cats had agreed on a pawshake that they would remain friends. Since then, their friendship had never been altered, though he only seemed to talk to her when they were alone. The apprentice sighed. He could be so messed up sometimes! Usually, he was flirting with Rainbowpaw, and she with him, and her sister was always telling Sunpaw about what he had done and how happy it had made her, no matter how small the thing was, like sharing a meal or asking her to tell his friends something when he was busy. She hadn't known until now why this always made her upset and jealous of her sister for the rest of the day. The tom basically ignored Sunpaw if they were in public, but even though she knew he was an idiot, she still liked him, for some reason she could not figure out.

The sun was beginning to rise over the treetops, and Vinewind woke up, immediately sending Sunpaw to go find some horsetail in the forest. She decided to bring Rainbowpaw with her, as she was still afraid of Blackmoon. She growled at herself for being so kit-like, but Vinewind, seeming to read her mind, assured her that she was right to be afraid.

When she and her sister were about to exit the entrance to the camp, Sunpaw turned to look over her shoulder at Foxpaw and Acornpaw, who were playfighing in the dirt outside the apprentices' den. The tom looked up at her, noticing her stare, and, blushing, the golden she-cat waved her tail in greeting, but the tom's eyes hardened for a moment, and he did not respond, only turning back to Foxpaw and launching himself at his friend again, resuming their play.

With a sinking feeling, Sunpaw followed her sister out of the camp. A sudden fear prickled at the back of her neck and she bristled slightly, trying to push away her nagging thoughts. Did she really want to give up her chances with this cat? Did she really want to give up a possible litter of kits?

_Did she really want to become a medicine cat?_

☼☼☼☼☼

Hawkshadow woke up with the sun in her eyes and a pool of melted snow building in the ditch around her. She breathed in a long breath, only to notice that her fever was gone and she had more fur than usual. What was happening to her? Had her mother healed her of her sickness?

She opened her eyes and sat up yawning, but she froze when she saw she was not alone in the Clearing. A black wolf with eyes yellow like a blazing fire stood over her, and behind him a gray one with eyes of the like. It was Mouse, and Hawkshadow shivered at recognizing the other wolf.

Blackmoon.

**Haha! Cliffie! Btw, can we pretend that more time has passed than there actually has? I need to make Whitefire's kits warriors... for a certain reason only Moonstar knows and you will find out. and, just to let you know, the next chapter will not start with Hawkshadow. It'll probably start with the ceremonies and stuff. see ya then! please R&R! thanks! –Spiritwind**


	22. Chapter 21

**I am writing up a storm! wow. well, enjoy the chapter!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors. If I did, I would also be a wolf and live in the woods..._

Chapter 21

Foxpaw twitched his white-tipped tail with anticipation as Silverfire took his place in the center of the camp. Rainbowpaw's warrior ceremony was today, and his sisters had only returned from collecting herbs just before the sun disappeared behind the trees. The ginger tom noticed that Sunpaw briefly glanced at Acornpaw, who was sitting beside him, with a look of loss and confusion clouding her eyes. She and Rainbowpaw came over to join the toms, the golden apprentice sitting as close to the brown tom as she could get, but her calico sister beat her to it. Sunpaw settled with sitting on the other side of Rainbowpaw with an unreadable expression on her kind face. As usual, she said nothing to anyone of what was troubling her.

"I feel kind of bad," she mewed. The other apprentices' eyes flicked toward her, and the she-cat shuffled her paws.

"Why?" Acornpaw prompted. At his words, Sunpaw seemed to color slightly under her fur, and she couldn't hold back a sheepish smile.

"I, um, uh, well, I promised myself that I would check on Hawkshadow in the Clearing today while I was out collecting herbs, just to see if she was okay, but I never got to it."

"I'm sure she's fine," Acornpaw mewed comfortingly, yet not completely warmly, and for a moment, Foxpaw wasn't sure why, Sunpaw looked hurt. Then she blinked her feelings away, turning it into a thank you. The brown tom, being oblivious, grinned in response.

Silverfire yowled the meeting to order, and the apprentices turned back to their leader. His pelt was neatly groomed, and it shone in the setting sun, the silver reflecting the sunlight. He beckoned for Rainbowpaw to join him in front of the cats gathered around him in a semi-circle, and, shaking slightly with anticipation, the calico padded up to him.

"We gather now for Rainbowpaw's warrior ceremony. I know it is a little early for her to be getting her warrior name, but I need an heir, and I thought she would be more than perfect."

Silverfire purred and his eyes brimmed with affection as he turned back to his sister.

"Beechheart, do you agree that this apprentice is ready to be a warrior?"

"I do," the sandy tom replied. "She has trained fast from the very beginning, and has been ready for a while, physically and mentally."

The leader nodded his assent. "Rainbowpaw, I have also watched you train well, even when I was an apprentice training in the Clearing with you. You have learned much under the guidance of both your mentor and you Clan, and, even more than that, StarClan. You show undying faith in them, and you always have, so now I call apon them to look down on you to hear and approve my choice.

"Rainbowpaw, from now on you will be known as Rainbowleaf. Let your courage and good spirit guide you in the ways of the warrior, and may you be a good leader when it is my turn to join our ancestors." The silver tom placed his chin on Rainbowleaf's head, and in return, she gave him a respectful lick on the shoulder.

"Rainbowleaf! Rainbowleaf!" Foxpaw joined in the traditional chanting of the new heir's name, and he bounded over to congradulate her on her new position.

"Rainbowleaf, you will stand vigil tonight, standing guard over the camp as our newest warrior!" Silverfire called over the croud. Rainbowleaf flicked her tail to let him know she had heard, but she was surrounded by so many babling cats that she could not say anything that her brother would be able to hear.

Flowerpaw, after talking with the new heir, padded up to Foxpaw, touching her nose to his ginger pelt in greeting. Every hair on the tom's coat tingled with a sensation he had only felt when his friend was around, and he could only guess what that feeling was.

"Want to get some fresh kill and share tongues?" purred the she-cat. Foxpaw nodded, and followed her out of the bustling croud of cats around them. Immediately after they cleared out, the cats moved in further, taking up the spaces close to Rainbowleaf.

By the time the apprentices started eating, Rainbowleaf was finally able to get out of the croud and take her position for her vigil. Foxpaw noticed Sunpaw try to approach Acornpaw, but the tom didn't notice, and he quickly trotted over to the ginger tom and Flowerpaw, a scrawny, winter-starved vole dangling from his jaws. The golden she-cat looked hurt, her mouth slightly open with the words she had wanted to say, then her face darkened, an exression Foxpaw had never seen on his sister's face. She padded swiftly away and into the undergrowth surrounding the camp. What was up with her lately?

Pushing away the thought, the tom finished his share of a rabbit being eaten by both himself and Flowerpaw, and he began talking with his friends. He told himself his sister would be back soon. Perhaps she just went for a drink from the stream near their camp? But she didn't come back, not even after night set over the forest, casting shadows over the cats from the trees. The apprentices retired to their den, one by one, Flowerpaw and Foxpaw being the last, after sharing tongues for a while.

The tom barely had time to drift off to a good dream about clawing up Blackmoon, when he was wakened by something. Sitting up, ears pricked, he noticed the other apprentices had heard it too, and they were all awake, eyes wide with fear. The sound came again to their ears, the howl of a wolf's battle cry, deep inside the forest.

☼☼☼☼☼

Sunpaw padded sulkily along, her tail drooping and her paws dragging in the fallen leaves on the ground. The forest was growing darker, and when the she-cat looked up, she saw the sun had set, and it would only be a matter of time before the trees went black with shadow.

Acornpaw was such an idiotic pile of fox dung! Sunpaw spat angrily at the forest floor, growling softly to herself. How she would like to claw some sence into him! But, yet, she loved him, loved him with all her heart. Every inch of her ached with longing for him to love her back, at least for them to be good friends. It seemed to her that he was always trying to push her away, just looking in the opposite direction as she called his name over and over, but he was deaf to her voice.

_I'm a medicine cat_, she thought. _I cannot love anyhow. I must be devoted to StarClan_.

Sunpaw found herself in the middle of a pine forest. The sky was dark blue, and clouds covered up the stars and moon, if there were any lately. It seemed that StarClan had abandoned them, and even the bare branches of the diciduous trees reached up to them for help, but help did not come. They were as cold and unfeeling as the winter wind, leaving the forest to slowly eat itself up until only thorns were left to inhabit the place.

_No_, Sunpaw thought to herself. _Medicine cats cannot love_.

The needles on the pine trees brushed together in a gentle breeze, whispering to each other, worrying about the future of the forest that was yet to come. Sunpaw's fur fluffed out against the wind, but suddenly the breeze picked up into a gust, changing direction. The small apprentice had no other choice but to turn her back to the wind and let it push her along to wherever it was taking her.

Up ahead, deep into the forest, maybe at the Clearing, a low wolf howl sounded, ominous and chill, echoing through every part of the dark forest. The wind whistled now and howled itself, whipping through the trees. Sunpaw was scared, but knew now why she was being pushed along. StarClan needed her wherever that howl was, and, all fear gone, she started to run, her feet pounding on the leaves, scattering them behind her as she weaved in and out of the trees.

_Hawkshadow's in trouble!_

☼☼☼☼☼

Snow sat guiltily in the apprentices' den, staring at the ground. Why did Hawkshadow get so mad? Of course, the wolf would never be able to understand what it would mean to have your friends trying to kill each other, because she had always had all her heart in her Tribe only. The only cats she were worried about in the Clan were Foxpaw and Flowerpaw, but they would not be in any major battles that she knew of since they were so young. But that didn't make sense, she was the same age as Foxpaw. Why was this all so confusing?

Snow snarled and slashed at the ground with a forepaw in frustration. Shadow, who had just walked in, flinched in surprise at the sudden movement. The she-wolf felt hot with embarrassment, despite the winter cold, and she studied her paws. The midnight-black wolf opened his mouth wide and rasped out wolf laughter, padding over to his friend.

"What's up?" he growled.

"I feel really bad about Hawkshadow. We were such mouse-brains!"

Shadow shook his head, his expression dropping more serious. "It wasn't your fault. You weren't the one to declare war on anybody, you only defended yourself when you were attacked. Don't feel bad."

Seeing that the statement didn't seem to alter Snow's mood, the wolf leaned over a bit, hesitated, then leaned the rest of the way to rasp his tongue affectionately over the she-wolf's muzzle. She looked up at him, eyes wide with puzzlement. When Shadow twitched his ears in a simple reply, Snow smiled and nuzzled him on the shoulder.

"No matter what happens," whispered the black wolf, "I will always be with you, for better or for worse."

The apprentices stepped out of the den to come face to face with a frantically panting Rain. Snow cocked her head questioningly.

"Silvermoon is going out on a patrol to the Clearing to check up on Hawkshadow. She wanted to know if you'd like to come."

Shadow and Snow exchanged excited glances and nodded vigorously. Rain told them to meet their Alpha at the entrance to the camp, and soon after the pups arrived they were off.

The sun was setting slowly on the horizon beyond the trees, and the sky was a kalleidoscope of colors from red to blue. Their group consisted of Silvermoon, Cedar, Wind, Feather, Shadow, Rain, Rose, and Snow. They made good progress, reaching the long traveled path to the Clearing in no time at all. The sun had just set, and the trees were darkening slowly but surely. Suddenly, Silvermoon stopped, and raised her head to sniff the air warily. She let out a menacing snarl that chilled the apprentices to the bone. Turning to Cedar, she stated what had made her afraid and angry.

"Blackmoon was here!" she growled. The Beta's eyes widened, but he soon let out his own angry snarl when he scented the direction in which the traitor had gone.

"He must be at the Clearing."

_No!_

"No!" Snow spoke her thoughts. "No, Hawkshadow's in trouble! We have to get to her, now!"

"The scent isn't too fresh," Feather pointed out, "But I don't think he traveled back this way. He may still be there, if we're lucky."

"Lucky?" Wind growled. "I think we'd be better off if he wasn't there. We could all get killed!"

Snow shuffled her paws in frustration. "But Hawkshadow must be in trouble if he went there! We have to help her!"

"It might be a trap," Rose murmured. "It'll be very dangerous."

Snow fixed her sister with a disbelieving look, but the chestnut she-wolf wouldn't meet her gaze. Looking for another outlet, the white wolf turned to her adoptive mother, her eyes pleading for help. Silvermoon sighed, shaking her head. For a sinking moment, Snow thought the Alpha was going to tell her they'd have to let Hawkshadow die, but then:

"I can't just send the girl to her death. I already feel responsible for getting her to stay in the Clearing, and I don't want her to die." She looked around her Tribe-mates, each one of their expressions unreadable, besides Snow, who looked like she was about to burst with relief. "We'll do this tactfully, though. Rose does have a point."

"Perhaps we should call for reinforcements first," suggested Rain. "If he is there, we'll have trouble."

Silvermoon nodded. "Go fetch all the warriors you can get. Leave a couple to guard the camp, though. We'll go in ourselves."

Without waiting for further instruction, the gray pup dashed into the undergrowth, making the leaves of a group of ferns rustle as he sped past.

"Let's go," growled Silvermoon, and the group ran swiftly through the trees and into the Clearing of the Great Tree.

In the center of the snow-covered clearing, the stump had been swept clean of most of its snow, and on it stood two wolves and another creature, not quite belonging to any species of living thing. Snow gasped in horror at the sight when the wolves stopped to stare at Blackmoon and Mouse.

The gigantic black wolf had his enourmous paw placed on the throat of the mutant creature, and Mouse stood behind her, lips pulled back in a smug snarl. Hawkshadow didn't dare move, and Snow guessed they must have threatened her, but not after she put up a fight. She noticed a small scratch above the traitior's eye, and Mouse had a similar one on her shoulder. The girl's eyes were wide with fear, but she struggled to shake her head, warning the wolves not to come closer.

Blackmoon snarled in his sickly laughter, revealing thorn-sharp fangs that looked almost black in the night.

"Welcome, friends."

"We've expected you," growled Mouse.

Silvermoon snarled, revealing her own strong fangs. "And we've expected you. But why must you take out your revenge on us on an innocent girl?"

Blackmoon laughed. "Innocent? She's no stranger to death or depression, and she's no stranger to battle either. What makes you think she's completely innocent?"

Snow was about to spring at her former Alpha, ready to tear at his body like teeth did to prey. She tensed her muscles, but Hawkshadow fixed her with a warning glare that made her stay still, but she still crouched and snarled at Blackmoon, ready to take on anything to get rid of the murderous traitor.

The black wolf chucked again, his body shaking with sickly laughter. "Oh, it's a fight you want? Well, if I just get this _thing_ out of the way, we'll be good to go."

Snow watched in horror as Blackmoon lifted his head for the death strike. Not knowing what she was doing, her body forced her to spring into the air, lunging herself at the wolf. Enraged with a fury she had not felt before, the apprentice let out a shreaking howl that she knew would carry out her anger to all the forest.

The time had come for her to avenge her mother's death.

**Haha! Cliffie! The great battle's next chapter, but I think I'll have, like, 2 more left, including that one. Keep your ears pricked for the next chappie! R&R please. No, really, please. –Spiritwind**


	23. Chapter 22

**Hi, yall. I finally got the chapter out! sorry this took so long... btw, i'm awesome! on microsoft word, this story is 191 pages! wow! anyway, i'm trying to get it up to 200, so expect either a long chapter next time, which will probably be the last one of the book, or an epilogue or something. well, enjoy! and, thanks to all who reviewed:)**

_Disclaimer: I do own Warriors...NOT! o, please don't hurt me!_

Chapter 22

Foxpaw raced into the clearing with all the other apprentices. They had to find Silverfire! Out of the corner of his eye, the ginger tom spotted his sister, Sunpaw, and he raced over to her, Acornpaw and Flowerpaw hard at his heels.

"Sunpaw, have you seen Silverfire?" he called to her, reaching the she-cat's side. She shook her head.

"I think he's still in his den."

With a curt nod, Foxpaw ran off again to the large rock at the opposite end of the camp from the main entrance. There was a large crack in the bottom that led to a cave inside. That was the leaders' den.

Foxpaw peeked his head inside, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. Silverfire was fast asleep in his nest across from the entrance. The apprentice flicked his tail to show the others he was there and crept inside.

"Silverfire, wake up!"

The leader grumbled and opened his eyes to thin slits. "What?"

"We think there's something wrong with Hawkshadow at the Clearing," put in Flowerpaw. "We heard a howl there, and it was pretty ferocious."

Silverfire sat up now, and his golden eyes were open fully. "What do you think is going on?"

"At worst," began Foxpaw, "Blackmoon has found her."

Without hesitation, Silverfire leapt up and strode from the den at a surprisingly quick pace. He talked as he made his way to the warriors' den.

"All of you are coming with me. I'll get a few warriors, and we'll go to the Clearing. I don't want anything to happen to Hawkshadow, especially at the paws of Blackmoon." Without another word, the leader slipped into the warriors' den, and, a few moments later, reappeared with all the warriors around him.

"Dirtpelt, Beachheart, Rainbowleaf, Flameear, come with me. Hollywhisker and Plumfur, guard the camp. We're going to get that murderous wolf if it kills us, and we won't let him get away alive. Tonight we avenge Whitefire and Darkfire's deaths!"

☼☼☼☼☼

Snow felt her teeth come into contact with the stunned Blackmoon's shoulder. The wolf growled in anger, and tried to shake the apprentice off, but the she-wolf's fury was too great for her to loosen her grip, and instead she bit harder and grabbed on with her paws.

"Snow, look out!" Feather howled. The mist of anger lifted from Snow's eyes, and she saw her mentor fly at Mouse, who was about to take a deadly chomp on the white she-wolf's neck. Distracted, Snow was thrown off of Blackmoon, and she hit the ground with a thud. Just then, five other wolves burst into the Clearing, three of them the males who had come to deliver the message of Silverfire to Silvermoon. Snow thought that they were backup, but, to her dismay, they threw themselves at her Tribe-mates, and the battle began. There had been more followers than just the ones who had shown themselves.

٭٭٭

Hawkshadow felt the weight of Blackmoon be lifted off of her and she was able to turn her head to see Snow diving at him and sinking her thorn-sharp teeth into her former Alpha's shoulder. Whipping around, the girl saw, to her relief, that no other enemies had come, as Blackmoon told here there would. Instead, Feather tackled Mouse, but at the same time, Snow was thrown to the ground. Hawkshadow was about to go help her friend when five other large wolves dashed into the clearing, each one attacking their Tribe-mates.

"Traitors!" she howled, and lunged onto the back of a white-and-brown speckled she-wolf who had attacked Rose. It wasn't fair! Most of the patrol were apprentices. But, just in the nick of time, more wolves came, but only a couple, and Rain followed them. The fresh warriors lunged themselves into the battle, but they were still losing.

The wolf Hawkshadow had attacked reared onto her hind legs, throwing off its mutant attacker. She turned on the girl, teeth barred, ready to strike. She thought, _This is the end. I'm going to die._ Then, with that thought to motivate her, she remembered her training. _Don't give up. Do this for Darkfire, your mentor! Make him proud!_

With a screech of rage, Hawkshadow leapt high into the air, using what human part there was left in her to spring up. She then turned, heading straight down toward the enemy, and collided head on with them. The wind was knocked out of the she-wolf, and Hawkshadow took that chance to sink her teeth into their hind leg. Though the human teeth were nearly useless on the thick winter coat of the wolf, her canines had sharpened in her moons in the forest, and they easily drew blood from the leg. With a snarl of anger and surprise, the traitor spun around and made to nip the girl on the arm.

Out of nowhere, a yowl of fury split the snarls and barks. Hawkshadow and the enemy she-wolf looked up, as did the rest of the warring animals. Near the edge of the Clearing, standing with his head high in defiance and a throng of warriors and apprentices behind him, Silverfire had come to the rescue. But, Hawkshadow noticed with a pang of annoyance, when his eyes fell on Silvermoon, the leader's expression darkened.

"Oh, it's you," he growled. "Are you with us or against us? We were right, weren't we? I see that half your warriors were on that traitor's side." He said 'traitor' with an emphasis that betrayed his boasting jests.

Silvermoon barred her teeth and was about to snarl a reply, when Hawkshadow managed to blurt something out before her, running up to the tom's side.

"Are you mouse-brained or something?" she hissed. "If we're going to defeat Blackmoon, we have to work together. Don't you see that? If we don't, he'll kill us all if we don't get to each other first."

The leader was about to protest when Foxpaw cut in.

"She's right, brother." Hawkshadow marveled at how he used their relations to get Silverfire on their side. "You have to forget our rivalries, at least for now. We can settle domestic matters later."

The gray tabby tom nodded in assent, and when Hawkshadow looked over at Silvermoon, it looked like she had agreed to whatever Snow was convincing her to do. Out of no where, the white apprentice and the Alpha were consumed by a black blur, and other gray and white ones followed, sending the Clearing back into the battle. Silverfire caterwauled a battle cry, and the cats lunged themselves into the fight.

As Hawkshadow faught to keep on her feet, though she now thought of them as paws, the girl was on a constant look-out for warriors that went down and would need help. She had no doubt that her friends from both sides would help her if she got in trouble, but through the flailing claws and teeth it was almost impossible to see anything. Almost the whole of each Clan or Tribe were there, battling to the end. The girl was not naive enough to think that they would all escape the fight alive.

Pushing away the thought, Hawkshadow made her way over to Snow and Foxpaw, who were fighting side by side, Flowerpaw and Flameear not that far off. The creatures were fighting Mouse herself. Hawkshadow crept around the wolf until she was at her back, then lunged onto her back, biting down hard on her neck. Though she had thought before that killing, let alone fighting, an old Tribe-mate would make her go easy, the girl now knew that she felt nothing but rage as the she-wolf howled in fury. The bite was surprisingly strong, and the gray fur was becoming stained with blood. Hawkshadow was motivated by an anger she could not pinpoint, a feeling that forced her to let out all her built-up pain on this one battle. She then realized this would be her first.

Mouse tried to fling off her attacker by rearing up, at the same time battering at the apprentices with her forepaws. Taken aback, Hawkshadow did the first thing that came to her mind that would save her from a fall, possibly a defeat. She wrapped her human arms around the wolf's neck, and in doing so cut off Mouse's air supply. The she-wolf gasped, spinning around, trying to find anything of the girl she could grab on to and haul her off. But Hawkshadow had drawn in anything that might be snatched by surprise, and she could feel her enemy weaken with every moment. Finally, the wolf collapsed under her, partly from her weight. The girl didn't let go yet, but whispered a warning into Mouse's ear.

"If you swear you will leave now, I will let you live. Only if you promise to leave the cat and the wolf territory forever. Go to the mountains, and stay there for the rest of your flea-bitten life. If you ever set paw here again, I'll tear out your throat!"

Hawkshadow was only bluffing, but Mouse seemed to think she was serious, and she choked out an oath. The girl let her strong arms loose, and the wolf was immediately up, gasping for breath, before she fled without a sound into the woods. Looking over at Silvermoon and Silverfire, who were battling with Blackmoon, she noticed that a flash of disgust and anger had passed over the young murderer's face before he went back to concentrating on the battle.

Rainbowleaf was struggling with one of the other wolves, Foxpaw, Flowerpaw, and Dirtpelt at her side. Hawkshadow recognized the speckled pelt as the one belonging to Rose's attacker earlier. Deciding that the cats had them covered, she looked around more, finding Blackmoon had flung Silvermoon to the side and had Silverfire pinned to the ground with a dangerous paw.

Hawkshadow was about to leap to his rescue, but she was tackled in the side by Mouse, who had returned, a look of triumph and amusement on her face. The wolf got her belly exposed to her blunt wolf-claws, and Hawkshadow had learned that this was one of the most vulnerable spots. Darkfire had taught her. _Darkfire!_

Anger welled up inside the girl, and Mouse's eyes widened at her fury-redenned face. This wolf had helped kill her first friend! With a screech of rage, Hawkshadow had the gray she-wolf pinned to the ground, and she was slashing away blindly with claws and teeth at whatever she could grab. Only after she realized the wolf was out cold did she remember Silverfire, and her head shot up, searching for her friend and former den-mate.

Blackmoon had killed him.

"NO!" Hawkshadow screeched, and she threw herself at the greatest enemy of all the forest. She yelled again, and two other creatures came to her aid—Snow and Foxpaw.

The three friends seemed to act as one, oblivious to the battle that raged around them. They clawed and chewed up the black body until they had him on his belly in the dirt. Snow had the honor of slamming his muzzle into the hard earth with a muffled "oof!" from the former Alpha. Hawkshadow looked down at Blackmoon, still blinded with rage, though able to see the body that lay before her.

The strong muscles of the wolf were torn and his nose was split, neatly enough that Hawkshadow guessed Foxpaw must have done it. One golden eye was half closed and swollen, and an ear was shredded to such a state that it was clear it would be of no more use to him. Blood welled and oozed from ever cut, so that, even in the dim moonlight, is looked as if fire had split a starless night.

Hawkshadow had no feeling of triumph as she looked down at her defeated enemy, nothing stirred inside her that would even hint of happiness at their victory. The battles around them had stopped, and the haze of anger the girl had felt had finally lifted, making a long, deep gash in the girl's side come to her concience. Stifling a groan of pain, Hawkshadow hid all possible looks of anguish from her face as she looked straight into Blackmoons' eyes.

"Do you now understand the fear they all felt? Do you understand the pain and agony they went through, the loss of the ones they love, the exhaustion of losing a hopeless fight? Or are you still blind to the treachery you put all your victoms through?" Hawkshadow calmly growled into Blackmoon's face. His eyes betrayed nothing, so the girl went on. "You killed Snow's mother, Foxpaw's too, and his uncle, the same relations also with Rainbowleaf, Sunpaw, and-and Silverfire." Her voice cracked at this, thinking of her dead friend who lay sprawled out and bleeding but tail lengths away. She swallowed at the knot in her throat and snarled. "You deserve to die. You gained that right a long time ago, after you first killed Streak and Storm, after you caused your first devistation to your own Tribe. Yet you felt no guilt. You thought it was all fun and games, you just wanted to take over the whole forest. You've killed all my friends, all the people who were kind to me when I first came, all the people I had as parents." She recalled reciting almost the same exact words to Flameear when she was trying to get him to understand he was not alone. She mentioned this to the traitor, her voice trembling with tears and anger. "And, by StarClan, he is not alone." Her calmess changed drastically into a howl of anger. "You destroyed our lives, and now it's our turn to destroy yours!"

As if connected by something invisible to all eyes of the world, Snow, Foxpaw, and Hawkshadow raised their heads and, one by one, as if it had been rehersed, bit down hard on Blackmoon's ruff, breaking through the skin and into his vulnerable throat, despite the winter-thickened fur. The murderer gasped and howled in pain, but the creatures did not let go until the blood-stained black body went limp, and all life left the corpse.

Only then did Silvermoon lead a jubilant cry over the gathered Clan and Tribe, risen from her dazed position on the dusty ground. But Flameear, Rainbowleaf, Foxpaw, and the rest of the cats did not join in. They had all gone to croud around Silverfire's body, shaking with sobs of loss. Poor Flameear was too depressed for physical emotion, and Rainbowleaf pressed her nose into her father's bloody fur.

Just then, Sunpaw, Vinewind, and Fallenleaf emerged from one side of the foliage around the Clearing. Without hesitation, the she-wolf began drifting around the cats and wolves, not caring which she was helping out. The traitors had all been ordered to stay in a group, and they would be dealt with later. Vinewind mimicked Fallenleaf, but Sunpaw ran over to her dead brother, eyes stretched wide in disbelief.

"He's gone," she murmured.

Foxpaw and Flowerpaw sat side by side, comforting each other. The flaming tom padded solemly over to his golden sister and licked her comfortingly between the ears. Hawkshadow was going to go join them, but she fell to her side with a cry of pain, and everything went black.

**Uh oh, what's happening to her? will she die?! Well, you'll find out next chapter! oh, i'm evil. Sorry, Moonstar, but I told you he had to die! and, again, you'll see why in the next chapter. R&R please! hardly anyone did last time! grrs. –Spiritwind**


	24. Chapter 23 & epilogue

**Hi! This is the last chapter of Hawk's Flight, but the sequel's name is at the bottom. i feel so special! not only did the story reach page 200, i was 20_2_ pages! yay! This chapter is dedicated to Moonflower, Moonstar, and BlindSeer, and anyone else who constantly reviews. btw, you should read their stories. they're really good! well, have fun reading.**

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Warriors, though for some reason people think that i do since i have to write this thing._

Chapter 23

Hawkshadow's head felt light and feathery when she opened her eyes, and the pain in her side was gone. She was somewhere familiar, but she was unable to tell exactly where. Her mind was blank as her tan skin. Looking around, she noticed she was in a room, sqare and blue and green, everything inside glowing with a pale light, something like that of the moon. Then the vision faded, and she was outside, to her left a house, to her right, a forest. Still, everything glowed, pulsing with a silvery light that seemed to radiate from the many stars in the night sky above. There was no sign of the moon, but from the spots of light, seven creatures appeared.

The first, a black and orange tom cat with glowing yellow eyes, stepped forward, as if leading the rest of the animals. He himself seemed to glow with all the light of the sun, and the tom stopped before her, looking up at the girl, love shining in his starry eyes.

"I'm glad we meet again, Little One," he mewed.

"Darkfire!"

The cat _mrowl_ed in laughter, but hushed the excited Hawkshadow. "Yes, it is me. Listen, there's something important we need to tell you."

The girl nodded enthusiastically, realizing she recognized all the animals gathered there, except for two, a gray-white wolf that shined silver, not only from the starlight, and a light tomcat.

"You have fulfilled your prophecy with Foxpaw and Snow," Darkfire went on. "But you have to now take on the task of the rest."

Hawkshadow pulled her shining eyes away from her friends to look quizzically at her former mentor. "Hmm?"

Darkfire chuckled. "You remember the original prophecy?" The girl nodded. "Right, well, it said 'an unexpected leader will rise.' Well, that leader is you, Hawkshadow."

Taken aback, the girl gasped loudly with surprise. "What?"

A white wolf with golden eyes nodded from the back. "You heard him, daughter," Cloud growled.

Hawkshadow gaped for a moment, then caught hold of herself and nodded. "Very well, I suppose I have no choice."

A creamy she-cat stepped forward to stand beside her brother, and she continued what the tom had been trying to say. "You know how when you lived with your parents, you were told that cats had 'nine lives'? Well, that would be true for the leaders of the Clan."

"But...?" Hawkshadow prompted, catching on to the "would be" in Whitefire's choice of words.

"But, since we took over the wolves' territory, StarClan thought it unfair that our leaders be granted those extra lives when the Alphas of the Tribe only had one. That's why Silverfire and Darkfire died so easily. Otherwise they would have lived, having lost only one of their lives.

"Now that there is peace in the forest, that gift can be given to the leaders. That includes you, Little One."

Hawkshadow struggled to soak in all this information while caming her giddy mind. She bit her lip and nodded.

"So, we are here to give you those lives, one from each of us," growled Cloud.

"But there are only seven of you. Where are the other two who will give me my eigth and ninth?"

"All in good time," Whitefire purred in amusement. Then she and her brother stepped back to let a different cat step forward, a dark tabby with one eye.

"One-eye? Bud you're not dead!" Hawkshadow growled.

"I died tonight, while you were all out, grieving over Darkfire's death. With this life, I give you friendship. Use it well to forge bonds and make peace whenever possible." The old tom reached up to touch noses with the girl, and she was flung into his life. She hadn't expected it to be so complex, but she found much love, heartbreak, happiness, and loss in the elder's life. She was relieved when he pulled away and went to join the other animals. Then the wolf Hawkshadow did not recognize stepped forward.

"I am Mist, the brother of Shadow. With this life, I give you decisiveness. Use it well in battle and when contemplating with others."

The male wolf's life was mostly happy, but fear-filled in his last moments, and painful as he was killed by claws raking accross his throat. Hawkshadow had to bite her lip against the pain, stifling a scream. She nearly sighed with relief when the wolf went back to join the others.

Then next was an off-white tom, one that she did not recognize. "I am Lightfire," he meowed. "With this life, I give you care. Use it to look after all that you care for, and make sure it is well protected, even if it means at your cost."

Lightfire's life was much like Mist's, but there was no pain in his death. He had shoved another cat out of the way to take the blow of a wolf's jaws, and the bite had been instantly fatal.

The next animal was Whitefire. Her kind blue eyes blinked warmly yet seriously at her young friend, and she, too went on with her speech. "With this life I give you justice. Use it to choose well and fairly, and without bias."

Hawkshadow had expected Whitefire's life to be a lot happier, but she was nearly thrown off balance at the pain and suffering she endured at losing her kits, and her death, but was overwhelmed at the relief and affection when she and the kits were reunited.

Next, Silverfire stepped forward, a playful grin on his young face, all his wounds from the battle gone. "With this life, I give you leadership. Use it to give strength to all the forest, and, most of all to yourself."

Silverfire's life was scarily mature, from kithood up until the day he died. Hawkshadow knew then why exactly Darkfire had chosen the small kit to lead the Clan, even if he had known something disastrous would happen. His death had been dignified, promising Blackmoon that if he died, the wolf would die as well, for he knew he had the love and respect of all the Clan. And it was a good feeling.

Darkfire was next. "With this life, I give you wisdom. Cherish it, for you will need it many times in your life."

Hawkshadow nearly howled with sadness at her mentor's life. He had been orphaned when he was an apprentice, and had been heartbroken when his mate, pregnant with kits, had been murdered in a raid while trying to protect the nursery. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she watched Lightfire die at his brother's side, and also saw the death of Whitefire. Darkfire's death had been more-or-less painless, as the blow had been to his throat, and she felt, just before her leader died, happiness that he would be with Lightfire again.

Finally, Cloud stepped forward, the last life from the gathered animals. "With this life, I give you hope. Use it to guide you and the forest to a brighter future, without loosing faith in us."

Cloud's life was happy in the beginning, yet sad none the less. When her mate had been taken away, not quite against his will, she had been heartbroken, but her protectiveness over Snow outgrew her death, and she had felt proud before she died. She was glad that Snow would be what she wanted. But, still, there was tremendous loss when she rasped out her last words to her friends.

Suddenly, two glowing mists appeared, breaking to reveal the last two life-givers. Hawkshadow nearly fell over with surprise and overwhelming happiness.

"Mom, Dad!" She ran over to grasp her parents in a hug, and they squeezed her in their arms for a moment, before letting go to signal to their daughter to do the same. The girl's clear brown eyes shone with tears of happiness, and she longed to be in her parents' arms again, to breathe in their warm scent, but she knew she would not be allowed to.

"With these lives," her mother smiled, "we give you love. Use it well, Aine, for it is the most powerful emotion of all."

Both parents bent to kiss their daughter on the head, and Hawkshadow felt a sudden fear of what was to come. She was not sure if she was ready to see how her parents had died, but after she felt the sadness and hope within them as she was tossed yet again into her loved one's deaths, the girl was finally able to understand why her parents had done what they did. Somehow, when her parents backed off, Hawkshadow felt that she had never been alone, and never would be again.

"Little One," Darkfire meowed as he stepped forward once more, "You have a true name that was meant to be given to you on this very moment, the moment when you became guardian of the forest. That name is Miakoda, meaning power of the moon. Your spirit is, and has always been, guided by the moon, and may that shining heart of yours never turn your back on it. You are indeed the chosen one, the child of the moon, the one to save us all."

٭٭٭

When Miakoda came back to the world around her, she was surrounded by wolves and cats alike, all looking down on her anxiously. Directly above her was Sunpaw, and beside the golden she-cat was Vinewind. The apprentice had been applying marigold and cobwebs to the wound on the mutant's shoulder, but when she saw her friend's open eyes, she immediately stopped. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, for the pain was gone, as was the wound.

As she stood up, a cheer sounded from all the animals in the Clearing, but it was pretty quickly hushed by a shocked silence. There before them stood the most gorgeous wolf any forest animal had ever seen. She had a black pelt that shone night blue in the moonlight, and it was speckled with a silver like stars. Her eyes were a beautiful golden-silver, like the harvest moon, and most unusual of it all was the pure-white crescent moon on the wolf's dark chest, the opening facing upward, each point almost touching, making the impression that this wolf was the walking night sky.

Miakoda cocked her head questioningly, and the crowd realized that she had no idea what she looked like. Then Sunpaw stepped forward, her eyes shining in understanding.

"Welcome, Miakoda. We've been expecting you for some time, Moon Child."

It was as if she was speaking StarClan's words out of her own mouth, like they were speaking as one voice to the whole forest through the small she-cat. The wolves and cats raised their voices again, howling their praise to the full moon that sliced its way through the clouds, the silverly sliver of light landing directly on the magnifiscent she-wolf.

Miakoda grinned, and her eyes lowered in modesty, her coat feeling hot and tingly. "May I see what I look like first?"

Countless heads bobbed up and down, and the crowd parted to let their new forest-leader through. They did not accept being left behind, though, and they followed the wolf out of the Clearing and to a near-by creek. The moonlight never left the she-wolf's pelt, so it was easy for her to see herself in the shimmering water. In there, she looked like StarClan itself.

"Oh, wow," she murmured, mouth open wide in a gape that expressed everything she was feeling, which was, mostly, confusion and wonder. "I'm...I'm a wolf." She felt like yowling in happiness, but, thinking that would be impossible as a wolf, she gave up the thought, but with it came another surprise. When Miakoda looked back down into the water, she nearly leapt back, startled, and did end up letting out the cat noise. She had transformed yet again into something else, that being a beautiful she-cat with the same markings on her pelt as she had when she had been a wolf. Then she got an idea.

_I wonder_, she thought, then wished that she could laugh like a human, and found, to her delight, that she was able to. Again, she looked back into the creek and saw her familiar reflection as an ordinary girl that had gone feral, but there was only one thing different. There was a birthmark on her chest, just below the collar bone, in the shape of the crescent moon on her pelt as a wolf and cat. Deciding she would stay like that for now, the girl turned back around to face the forest-dwellers.

"Well, here you have it! Now, where shall I live?"

"The Clearing?" someone called from the back.

Miakoda nodded. "Good idea. But, I would like permission to visit the wolves and cats whenever I want, and be able to stay as long as I want." She paused. "Is that okay?"

Rainbowfire, who had recieved her nine lives at the same time as she had, and Silvermoon approached her, both pairs of eyes shining with pride in their friend.

"You can say whenever you'd like," purred the she-cat, and the silver wolf growled her approval.

"After all you've done," she added, "I would be mad not to let you do anything you want. You are the chosen one, and we must respect you for that."

Miakoda shook her head. "No, don't. I'm not used to this kind of leadership or respect, but the respect I _will not_ tollerate to any extent more than what you two recieve. If anyone tries to give me that honor, I'll claw their ears off."

There were murmurs of ammusement passed around the gathered animals, making it seem like the whole forest was joining in the joy. After all, what reason did they have not to be glad? After thousands of years of war, the forest had finally been brought to peace.

_**Epilogue**_

"Foxpaw, from this day forward, you will be known as Foxtail. I know you will be a great warrior, and that you will serve your Clan well. May the power of StarClan be with you always, and may they guide your heart to do the goodness it had been destined to."

Rainbowfire looked up at her brother, who had grown into a handsome, strong tom. He had decided to delay his becoming a warrior so he and Flowerpaw could sit vigil together on their first night out of the apprentices' den. The she-cat purred with ammusement as she recalled another reason her brother wanted to get their names at the same time. Flowerpaw had gotten pregnant with his kits not long ago, and he was hoping to cover up their age difference.

"Flowerpaw, could you join me, please," she mewed. The small tortoiseshell she-cat padded steadily up to her leader, looking right into her eyes. "Plumfur," she adressed the apprentice's mentor, "Do you think that this she-cat is ready to become a warrior?"

"I do."

"And, Flowerpaw, do you swear to uphold the warrior code and protect your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," meowed the tortoiseshell confidently.

"Then, by the power of StarClan, I make you a full warrior of CatClan. Flowerpaw, from now on you will be known as Flowerpetal. Your courage and loyalty will make you a great warrior, and I know you will not abuse that honor."

The ceremonies seemed to go by in a flash as Acornpaw became Acornclaw and Shadepaw was made Shademask. When the meeting was dismissed with a flick of the calico she-cat's tail, Rainbowfire spotted the medicine cat, Sunwhisker, padding over to the fresh kill pile.

The sun had set beyond the trees, and the early-spring sky was dyed a bright orange-red. The leader recalled how her sister had gained the position she had, just moons ago. The golden she-cat had been mending one of the wolves' wounds, and if she wasn't able to cure him, he would die.

Vinewind had been working on the male before, but said that there was nothing he could do. Oddly enough, Sunwhisker, then Sunpaw, had been asked to demonstrated for her mentor what she could do. She was able to heal the warrior completely.

_Rainbowfire looked accusingly at her medicine cat, and the brown tabby tom lowered his eyes in embarrassment. Sunpaw had just told them Vinewind must have forgotten one of the simplest herbs. The medicine cat had opened his mouth to say that he was just testing her, but, reflecting on the circumstances, decided to tell the truth and agree._

"_Umm, I'll just step down now and be a warrior again," he mewed ashamedly. Sunpaw looked guilty, and tried to reassure her former mentor._

"_Oh, don't feel bad. It's not your fault the Clan asked you to be medicine cat."_

"_No, but it is my fault that I accepted and didn't let you be the medicine cat yourself."_

"_I was only a kit! I couldn't have done that."_

_Vinewind purred in ammusement. "No, I suppose you couldn't have."_

Rainbowfire nodded in greeting to the brown tabby as she passed him, and his ears twitched in response. Just when the she-cat reached her golden sister, they were interrupted by a yowl from the camp entrance.

Dirtpelt and Hollywhisker bounded into the camp, their pelts bristling slightly and fear scent wafting up from them. Hollywhisker had been made the new heir, and she and her mate had gone on patrol directly after the naming ceremony of their kits. The leader felt unease prick at her paws at the sight of the nervous warriors.

"What happened?" she meowed.

The dusty tom gasped for breath, but recovered before the she-cat. "Giants...three of them...all...grown males...tried to catch us...we...just barely...got away."

Hollywhisker chimed in now, letting Dirtpelt catch his breath. "They've been building up along the border, coming in further and further. These were marking some trees with some kind of dye that sprayed everywhere, leaving an acrid stench. What will we do? They're coming closer and closer all the time, and I'm afraid they'll reach the camp and kill us all."

Dirtpelt licked his mate between the ears. "I don't think there's anything we _can_ do but let them come and see what happens."

Rainbowfire felt and angry growl rise in her belly, reverberating through her whole body. "Yes, let them come and see what will happen to them if they tangle with us."

**Ooo. Well, that's the end of book one! Stay tuned for book two, Moon's Shadow. It'll be coming out shortly. Btw, this was like a sneak peek for what the next book will be about, but there's more to it than this. Please R&R! I'd REALLY appreciate it, but I won't ask for the impossible 100 like Moonstar. ...and she calls _me_ obsessive about them. Thanks to all who have read my story! –Spiritwind**


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